June 12, 2008

Center Valley, Pa. - The honors continue to flow in for Bucknell baseball senior Jason Buursma, whose latest recognition came this week when he was named to the All-Ping! Baseball second team and a third-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America. Buursma was selected as a utility player by both organizations for his efforts both in the field and on the mound.

Buursma is the first Bison player to garner an All-Ping!Baseball selection since the web site began presenting the awards in 2007. Out of nearly 9,000 Division I players, Ping!Baseball honors approximately 100 individuals on three All-Ping squads. A total of 56 standout college baseball players from every part of the country are featured on the 13th Annual Pro-Line Athletic NCBWA All-America Team.

Buursma enjoyed his finest season of his Bucknell career this spring as a senior, hitting a team-best .367 with 58 hits, 37 runs scored, seven doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 37 RBI and a slugging percentage of .671. On the mound, he broke the program wins record with a 9-3 mark and posted a 2.58 earned-run average in 83.2 innings. He totaled just 10 walks and 78 strikeouts, while opposing hitters batted only .226 against him. Buursma led the Patriot League in wins and ERA, and tied for the League lead in strikeouts.

Buursma became the first baseball student-athlete in Patriot League history to win Player of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. He made the list of 16 national finalists for the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award, and also appeared on the Dick Howser Trophy Watch list. Buursma received high praise for his work in the classroom as well, as he was selected as an ESPN The Magazine first-team Academic All-American and is one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Buursma is the only baseball player in the nation that was on the list for the Brooks Wallace, Dick Howser and Lowe's Senior CLASS Awards.

Last week, Buursma was selected in the 25th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals and received NCBWA District I Player of the Year honors.

Buursma earned a First Team All-Patriot League selection as an outfielder this season, which marked the fifth All-League recognition of his career. He is the first Bucknell player to collect five All-League accolades, matching the second-highest total in League history. Buursma set a new Patriot League record for career ERA, finishing with a 2.13 in 181.2 innings of work. After four years with the Orange and Blue, Buursma has etched his name into the program's single season top-10 lists 14 times and appears on 17 of Bucknell's career top-10 lists. In the League's record book, Buursma ranks in the top-10 for five single season categories and three career categories. In addition to holding the league's ERA record, he is fourth all-time in career home runs (24) and third all-time in career saves (15).