Buursma and Gryskevicz Represent Bucknell on the Academic All-District II Baseball Team
May 10, 2007 LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell junior Jason Buursma (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside School) and senior Ryan Gryskevicz (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) have been named to the ESPN The Magazine 2007 Academic All-District II University Division Baseball First Team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced on Thursday. The honors were the first career all-district citations for the two Bison, who will both move on to the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration. This marks the second consecutive year that Bucknell has placed two players on the Academic All-District squad, as 2006 graduates Chris Brannan and Matt Capece were both first-team selections last spring. Capece went on to earn Academic All-America honors as an infielder on the third team, becoming the school's 111th Academic All-American. Buursma, who was named Academic All-District as a designated hitter, enjoyed success both at the plate and on the mound for the Bison this season. He finished his junior campaign hitting .299 and tied for the team lead in runs scored with 22, while ranking second in RBI with 23. Buursma totaled nine doubles, two triples and two home runs, as well, and posted a .455 slugging percentage. He recently picked up his second All-Patriot League first team honor as a relief pitcher, his fourth all-league citation overall, after he posted a 4-1 record over 19 appearances with five saves this year. Buursma currently leads the Patriot League with a 1.65 ERA and totaled 35 strikeouts in 43.2 innings of work in 2007, while holding opposing hitters to a .217 average. In league play, he went 3-0 with three saves over nine appearances and pitched a complete-game shutout in his first collegiate start, a 7-0 victory over Navy. In addition, he broke Bucknell's record for career saves this year with his 15th and is currently second on the PL all-time list. In the classroom, Buursma holds a 3.6 grade-point average as an economics and sociology major with a minor in philosophy. Throughout his career, Buursma has been a Dean's List student and a Patriot League Academic Honor Roll member and, last fall, he studied abroad at Oxford in a one-on-one instruction on classical economic thought. A member of the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society, Buursma is also a past recipient of the Charles F. White Memorial Prize for scholar athletes. Gryskevicz, who was named one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award yesterday, was one of two recipients of the Alvin F. Jackson Memorial Scholar Athlete Award at the 2007 Bucknell Senior Athletic Awards Banquet. A member of the Dean's List six out of seven semesters so far, Gryskevicz carries a 3.7 grade-point average as an accounting major and was named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll in each of his first three years with the Bison, with the 2007 honor roll still to come. Gryskevicz was also recognized for his on-field performance this season as he picked up his second career all-league citation after being named a second-team honoree in 2006. The First-Team All-Patriot League outfielder led the Orange and Blue in virtually every offensive category in 2007, including batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.466), hits (50), RBI (25) and total bases (69) over 39 games. He finished his senior campaign ranked fifth in the league in batting average, as well. A three-year starter for the Bison, Gryskevicz will graduate having played in 126 games with 121 starts. Over his four seasons at Bucknell, he totaled 64 runs scored, 137 hits, 29 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 69 RBI, with a career batting average of .325 and a .450 career slugging percentage. Away from the diamond, Gryskevicz has served as the president of Bucknell's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and is also involved in additional community service activities as a member of the Mortar Board. Following is a complete listing of the 2007 Academic All-District II University Division Baseball Team: First Team |
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