Purdue undergraduate named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year

6/4/12 6:05 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio – June 4, 2012 – Purdue baseball was rewarded for its regular-season conference title and 40-win campaign with a bevy of postseason All-Big Ten honors, including Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Year awards for team leaders Kevin Plawecki and Delta Chapter undergraduate brother Joe Haase, respectively.

A program-record eight players and head coach Doug Schreiber were recognized for leading the Boilers to the best overall record in the conference for the second year in a row. Schreiber was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Haase, along with Big Ten Player of the Year award winner Kevin Plawecki and Big Ten Coach of the Year Doug Schreiber represent Purdue's first winners of these prestigious awards. The Player of the Year dates back to 1982, Coach of the Year 1988 and Pitcher of the Year 1994. This marks the second year in a row and seventh time since 1994 that one team has swept the Big Ten Player, Pitcher and Coach of the Year awards.

Meanwhile, Cameron Perkins (third base) and Haase (starting pitcher) were the only unanimous selections to the All-Big Ten First Team.

Haase has been a constant in the Purdue rotation the last two years, starting a game in every Big Ten weekend series. He leads the Big Ten with nine victories this season, but more importantly the Boilers are 13-1 in his 14 starts. He helped guide Purdue to a series-opening victory in every Big Ten weekend series, earning the win in every start except April 20 at Nebraska. After not pitching past the fifth inning in any of his first four starts this year, he put together eight quality outings over a stretch of nine starts from mid-March through mid-May.

Haase was a two-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Week this year, earning the award after complete-game shutouts against Northwestern and Michigan. He also led Purdue to a shutout win against Illinois (7 IP, 5 H, 0 BB). He was dynamite in his four starts at Lambert Field this year, winning all four while issuing just one walk and compiling a 0.88 ERA.

Article courtesy of Purdue Sports Properties