Anteaters’ Gorgen named Golden Spikes semifinalist

UC Irvine junior pitcher Scott Gorgen has been named a semifinalist for the 2008 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation’s premier amateur baseball player.

There are 50 semifinalists, representing 40 schools, that will be narrowed to five finalists on June 3. The winner will be announced July 16.

Through the regular season, Gorgen was 10-3 with a 1.90 earned-run average.

The UCI career strikeout leader with 313, he has pitched 104 innings, yielding just 54 hits and fanning 109 this season.

After recording 117 strikeouts last season, he is the first Anteater to record 100 or more strikeouts in consecutive seasons.

He has collected three Easton Big West Pitcher of the Week honors in 2008 and has also received weekly awards from Collegiate Baseball, the College Baseball Foundation, CollegeBaseballInsider.com and InsidePitching.com.

Gorgen joins Long Beach State’s Andrew Liebel and Jake Jefferies of UC Davis as representatives of the Big West Conference who are semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award.

He is also a semifinalist for the Roger Clemens Award, presented to the best college pitcher in the country.

— From staff reports