ASU Junior Mike Leake named semifinalist for Pitcher of the Year Award

Arizona State University junior right hander Mike Leake has been named a semifinalist for the Pitcher of the Year Award. The award is presented by the College Baseball Foundation. Leake was the only pitcher from the Pac-10 among the 15 semifinalists. Leake (Fallbrook, Calif.) is 12-1 with a 1.47 ERA for the Sun Devils. He leads the Pac-10 in victories, strike outs (104) and innings pitcher (97.2) and he has also tossed four complete games. Leake was recently named an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII selection for the second consecutive year. He was the 2008 Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year and a semifinalist for the Roger Clemens Award. Pitcher of the Year Award Semifinalists: * Mike Leake, Arizona State * Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech * Eric Arnett, Indiana * A.J. Morris, Kansas State * Louis Coleman, Louisiana State * Kyle Bellamy, Miami * Buddy Baumann, Missouri State * Daniel Calhoun, Murray State * Alex Wimmers, Ohio State * Mark Serrano, Oral Roberts * Addison Reed, San Diego State * Stephen Strasburg, San Diego State * Austin Wood, Texas * Brooks Raley, Texas A&M * Daniel Bibona, UC Irvine Michael Raymond Leake is a management major and is the son of Chris and Sarah Leake of Valley Center, California. He enjoys playing cards, golf and other sports and lists the Seattle Mariners as his favorite baseball team. Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan are his favorite players. He was selected in the seventh round (218th overall pick) by the Oakland Athletics in the 2006 MLB Draft. In 2008 as a Sophomore, Leake turned in another dominating season, winning Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year. He finished the season 11-3 with a 3.49 ERA and one save...pitched in 19 games, starting 16...hurled two complete games and led the Pac-10 with 121.1 innings pitched. He struck out 104 batters while walking only 20 and led the Pac-10 with nine pickoffs. He began playing in the field midway through the season, batting .340 with two homers and 11 RBI in 47 at bats. His 24 career victories make him one of only nine Sun Devils to achieve 20 career wins in their first two years, and one of only three to have done it as a freshman and sophomore. As a freshman in 2007, Leake had one of the most dominating seasons by a freshman pitcher in ASU history as First Team All-Pac-10 selection. He was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the Tempe Regional and began the season as the closer and ended as the Friday night starter. Leake pitched in 25 games, making 13 starts and finished 13-2 with a save and a 3.69 ERA. He set a new Arizona State freshmen record with 127 innings pitched and 94 strikeouts...his 94 Ks was the ninth most in the Pac-10 and his 127 innings pitched was the sixth most in the conference. Michale also played the outfield, getting 17 at-bats and knocking in five runs.