 |
by Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University pitchers Nathan Jones and Josh Lueke were each selected in the 2007 Major League Baseball draft. It marks the third consecutive season the Norse have seen their pitchers drafted. Jones, a native of Butler, Ky., was selected in the fifth round by the Chicago White Sox after a solid junior season on the mound for Todd Asalon's squad, posting a 2.88 ERA in 56 1/3 innings, compiling a 4-5 record with two saves. Opposing hitters held a slim .185 batting average against the right-hander, a low-water mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. He also struck out 9.6 batters per game to lead GLVC pitchers. The junior's top performance of the season was a 7 1/3 inning, two-hit gem against Indianapolis May 1, as the Norse took a 5-0 victory. Jones struck out nine and walked four in the contest, and no-hit the Greyhounds through 5 1/3 innings. Lueke, a junior from Taylor Mill, was the 500th overall selection, going in the 16th round to the Texas Rangers. His 75 innings of work was short of the team lead by just one-third of an inning as he collected 47 strikeouts to just 22 walks. Of Lueke's three complete games, two ended in shutout victories for the Norse. In 2006, Paul David Patterson was selected in the 16th round by the New York Yankees. Two seasons ago, Derrik Moeves was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth round. NKU closed out the 2007 campaign with a 27-26 record. |
