Junior right-handed pitcher Jake Lemoine will make his return this season to a Cougar pitching staff that reached achieved multiple Top 10 rankings across the nation last year. | File Photo/The Cougar
Jake Lemoine is proving himself as a force to be reckoned with.
The junior right-handed pitcher found himself among 50 of the nation’s best athletes as he was named to USA Baseball’s preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List Tuesday afternoon.
The preseason nod from USA Baseball brings Lemoine to a total of six for the 2015 season. He was named a Preseason Second Team honoree by Baseball America and D1Baseball.com, a Second Teamer by Perfect Game and a Preseason Third Team All-American by Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, as well as a spot on the 15-man roster for the Preseason American Athletic Conference Team.
Lemoine spent his summer traveling on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. He also became the nation’s Premier Player of College Baseball, an award voted on by college baseball fans, which propelled him into the 2015 season with high expectations.
Lemoine returns to a key facet in a pitching staff that was ranked second in the nation last season for walks allowed per nine innings and third in strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Cougars’ pitchers also worked to spots in the Top 10 for ERA, WHIP and winning percentage.
The recent preseason honor with the Golden Spikes Award Watch List will be something worth paying attention to through the entire season as it is a rolling list. The semifinalists for the award will be announced on May 22, and the winner will be named on June 23.
The Cougars begin their competitive play with a three-game weekend against the Minnesota Golden Gophers Friday at 6:30 p.m., followed by games at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and a 1 p.m. on Sunday.
