Purke Earns Second National Honor
6/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 15, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) has named Matt Purke their Freshman Pitcher of the Year. In addition to earning top pitching honors, the left-hander was tabbed as a first-team freshman All-American.
Purke has posted a 14-0 record with a 3.23 ERA in 103 innings pitched this season. The Spring, Texas, native has struck out a team-leading 133 batters, walked 28, recorded one complete game and held opponents to a .219 batting average over 18 appearances during 2010. The left-hander went into the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 3 in the country in wins and 12th in strikeouts. He was named the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year and received second team All-American honors and Freshman Pitcher of the Year from Collegiate Baseball News.
Purke leads the Mountain West with 14 wins and 133 strikeouts. The left-hander also ranks in the conference's Top 10 in ERA (4th), innings pitched (4th) and opponents batting average (2nd). He is the third Horned Frog to be named a conference Freshman of the Year in school history.
The left-hander has helped lead TCU to a 51-12 record and its first appearance in the College World Series, with NCAA Fort Worth Regional and Austin Super Regional Championships. The Horned Frogs also captured the MWC Regular Season and Tournament titles. Purke has been named one of the finalists for the College Baseball Foundation's Pitcher of the Year Award.
