Michigan State University Athletics
Two Spartans Named To Preseason All-America Baseball Teams
1/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 3, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Two Michigan State baseball players - senior catcher Brady Burrill (Valencia, Calif.) and sophomore pitcher Tim Day (West Chester, Ohio) - have been named preseason All-Americans by two different baseball publications. Burrill was named a third-team All-American by Louisville Slugger, as selected by Collegiate Baseball newspaper, while Day earned third-team accolades from the NCWBA (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association). Burrill and Day are MSU's first preseason All-Americans since Mark Mulder in 1998.
Burrill appeared in just 28 games last season, but still managed to lead the Spartans with a .414 batting average. Although he did not have enough official at-bats to qualify for the Big Ten statistics, Burrill recorded impressive offensive numbers in the opportunities he did get. In 99 at-bats, Burrill recorded 41 hits, 11 doubles, five home runs, 24 RBI and scored 32 runs. He also proved to be just as valuable defensively, throwing out 29 percent of opposing runners attempting to steal a base.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Burrill started 2002 on a strong note, earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors on Feb. 25 after batting .583 and driving in nine runs in the first weekend of the season. But five games into the season, he was sidelined with mononucleosis, forcing him to miss nine games. He returned to the lineup in late March, but suffered another injury on April 19 vs. Michigan, when a foul ball broke a bone in his right hand. The injury kept Burrill out of the lineup until the final weekend of the regular season.
Burrill was drafted in the 34th round (1,080 overall pick) by the Seattle Mariners in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft in June, but elected to return for his senior season with the Spartans. He has healed from all of his injuries and is looking for a full season with MSU in 2003.
In Day's rookie campaign, the freshman posted an 11-3 record, establishing a MSU single-season record for victories en route to earning Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound righthander finished 2002 with a 3.21 ERA and ranked second on the squad with five complete games. He finished the year with a strikeout to walk ratio of over 4-to-1, striking out 60 and allowing just 13 free passes. In Big Ten contests, Day posted a dazzling 2.43 ERA, allowing just 11 earned runs in 40.2 innings of work.
Although he posted two shutouts during the Big Ten season (vs. Penn State on May 18 and vs. Iowa on April 28), Day's best outing of 2002 might have been his performance in the Big Ten Tournament. With the Spartans facing elimination, Day defeated Indiana, 14-1. In eight innings of work, he allowed just one run on five hits, while striking out a season-high 10 Hoosier hitters.
The Michigan State baseball team opens the 2003 season with a three-game series at Centenary in Shreveport, La., on Feb. 21-22.
