Bryan Gale Named Freshman All-America
6/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 13, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State freshman pitcher Bryan Gale (Decatur, Mich.) has been named to the 2001 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team as selected by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Gale becomes the third Spartan in the last four years to earn All-America honors of some sort.
A 6-3, 160-pound right-hander, Gale posted a 9-1 record with a 3.53 ERA. Gale started the year in the Spartan bullpen but worked his way into the starting rotation during the Big Ten season. His nine wins led the team, while his 3.53 ERA was tops among Spartan starters. He appeared in 21 contests during the season, starting six. Of his six starts, he pitched a complete game three times. In 63.2 innings pitched, he allowed 55 hits, striking out a team-best 59, while walking 26. He allowed 27 runs, 25 of them earned. Opposing batters posted a paultry .236 average against Gale. He also collected two saves out of the bullpen.
"It's a great honor for Bryan to be selected as an All-American," said MSU baseball coach Ted Mahan. "We are very excited about his performance this past season, and his future at Michigan State. It's not that often that you see a freshman win nine games. He certainly has a great future ahead of him as he will become one of the leaders on our pitching staff the next few years."
Gale's breakout performance came on April 22, 2001, against Northwestern. Making his third start of the year and first in the Big Ten, Gale pitched a nine-inning complete game, striking out eight Wildcats, while allowing one earned run off seven hits in a 6-2 MSU victory. Later in the season, Gale threw a seven-inning complete game vs. Michigan in a 10-2 Spartan victory, scattering five hits and striking out five.
A 2001 second-team All-Big Ten selection, Gale's nine wins were the third most in the Big Ten while his 3.53 ERA ranked fourth in the conference.
In 2000, MSU centerfielder Bob Malek was named Freshman All-America by both Louisville Slugger and Baseball America. As a sophomore this past season, Malek led the Big Ten with a .427 batting average and set the MSU single season hit record with 88 hits. In 1998, Spartan pitcher Mark Mulder was named third-team Louisville Slugger All-America. The left-hander is now in his second season with the Oakland A's. He leads the A's in wins with an 8-3 record, while posting a 3.77 ERA.