Baseball's Venditte a Semifinalist For Stopper of the Year
4/17/2008 1:00:00 PM | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. (NCBWA) - Creighton senior Pat Venditte is one of 45 pitchers included on the midseason watch list for the fourth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, the association announced Thursday. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in Division I college baseball.
A native of Omaha, Venditte has dominated foes while continuing as the nation's only ambidextrous pitcher. Venditte is 4-2 with five saves and a 2.59 ERA in a national-best 22 appearances this year for Creighton. Venditte leads the MVC with 65 strikeouts and is second in the MVC with 55.2 innings pitched despite not making a start.
A preseason All-American after earning All-America honors last year, Venditte owns Creighton single-season and career records for ERA and has recently moved into the top-10 in Creighton history for saves and strikeouts in a career.
The midseason watch list includes four players with double-figure saves totals through April 15, paced by NCAA saves leader Tyler Conn of Southern Miss. The senior lefty has 12 saves, a win and 31 strikeouts in 16 relief appearances and is one of three hurlers on the watch list who have not yielded an earned run in 2008.
Not far behind Conn are 10-save relief specialists Joshua Fields (1-1, 0.00) of Georgia, Colin Lynch (0-1, 2.76) of St. John's, and Virginia's Michael Schwimer (1-1, 1.26). Conn, Fields and Mississippi State's Aaron Weatherford have not allowed an earned run through the first half of the season.
The 2008 midseason watch list features teams representing 19 athletic conferences as well as one independent team. The Atlantic Coast Conference leads the way with six pitchers on the honor squad. Venditte was the only MVC player on the midseason list.
The watch list was compiled from nominations submitted by sports information contacts and conference media relations offices nationwide. At the conclusion of regular season competition, the NCAA Division I saves leader and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as the finalists for the award and announced May 28 prior to the start of NCAA regional competition. The winner of the 2008 Stopper of the Year Award will be selected by the NCBWA's All-America Committee and announced Wednesday, June 4, two days before NCAA Super Regional play begins. Last year Creighton's Andy Masten was one of five finalists for the award, won by Sam Houston State's Luke Prihoda.
2008 NCBWA STOPPER OF THE YEAR MIDSEASON WATCH LIST
PITCHER SCHOOL CL. HOMETOWN
Tyson Bagley Dallas Baptist Sr. Bakersfield, Calif.
Scott Bittle Mississippi Jr. Texarkana, Texas
Nick Cassavechia Baylor Sr. Dallas, Texas
Zach Calhoon Texas San Antonio So. Spring, Texas
Tyler Conn (LHP) Southern Miss Jr. Ocean Springs, Miss.
Chase Dempsay Houston Fr. Baytown, Texas
Daniel Edwards Kansas State Sr. Kingwood, Texas
Tim Erickson (LHP) Lamar Sr. Sour Lake, Texas
Joshua Fields Georgia Sr. Hull, Ga.
Nick Gaudi Pepperdine Sr. Lancaster, Calif.
Jim Gilheeney (LHP) North Carolina State So. Johnston, R.I.
Thomas Girdwood Elon Fr. Charlotte, N.C.
Matt Gorgen California Jr. Clayton, Calif.
A.J. Griffin San Diego So. El Cajon, Calif.
Carlos Gutierrez Miami Jr. Miami, Fla.
Alex Hale Richmond Sr. Omaha, Neb.
James Hayes Rider So. Sunrise, Fla.
Kyle Heyne Ball State Sr. Coldwater, Ohio
Chris Hicks Georgia Tech Jr. Alpharetta, Ga.
Greg Johnson South Alabama Jr. Omaha, Neb.
Josh Lindblom Purdue Jr. West Lafayette, Ind.
Colin Lynch St. John's Jr. Manchester, N.H.
Jake McCarter Oklahoma Sr. Kerrville, Texas
J.D. Melton Navy So. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Jeremy Nowak Stony Brook So. Cheektowaga, N.Y,
Drew O'Neil Penn State Jr. Roswell, Ga.
Eric Pettis UC Irvine So. West Hills, Calif.
Tommy Rafferty Arizona State Sr. Lorena, Texas
Matt Reifsnider The Citadel So. Ormand Beach, Fla.
Justin Robichaux UL-Lafayette So. Crowley, La.
Kevin Rhoderick Oregon State Fr. Scottsdale, Ariz.
Shawn Sanford South Florida So. Cinnamision, N.J.
Michael Schwimer Virginia Sr. Alexandria, Va.
Brian Shaw Long Beach State Sr. Livermore, Calif.
Thain Simon Santa Clara Fr. El dorado Hills, Calif.
Travis Starling Texas A&M So. Yoakum, Texas
Jason Stoffel Arizona So. Agoura, Calif.
Josh Storm Troy Jr. Cottondale, Fla.
Payton Tweddale (LHP) Charleston Southern Sr. Charlotte, N.C.
Matt Vaughn Clemson Jr. Summerville, S.C.
Pat Venditte (LHP/RHP) Creighton Sr. Omaha, Neb.
Derek Ward Louisiana Monroe Jr. Lewisville, Ark.
Aaron Weatherford Mississippi State Jr. Crystal Springs, Miss.
Bryan Woodall Auburn Jr. Phenix City, Ala.
Rob Wooten North Carolina Sr. Fremont, N.C.
