Minnesota baseball sophomore Glen Perkins was named to the Collegiate Baseball Second-Team All-American on Friday for the second-consecutive time.
The Gophers’ lefthander from Stillwater, Minn., is the first Minnesota pitcher named as an All-American in consecutive seasons since Wayne Knapp and Larry Bertelsen accomplished the feat after the 1960-61 season.
Perkins finished the season 9-3 after taking a loss to Cal State Fullerton on Friday. He was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year after leading the conference in wins and tying for first in strikeouts.
Perkins is expected to be a first-round pick today in Major League Baseball’s first-year player draft.
According to the Web site MLB.com, Perkins’ fastball can reach 93 miles per hour, and he would be a good fit in the middle of a team’s starting pitching rotation.
Perkins has the most Big Ten career strikeouts in Minnesota history with 139, and is sixth on the Minnesota all-time strikeout list with 224 in his career.
Roche All-American
For the third-straight season Minnesota senior rower Melissa Roche is an All-American. The Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association named Roche as a member of the Second-Team All-America on Thursday.
Roche rowed this season as a member of Minnesota’s Varsity Eight. She helped lead the boat to a 22nd-place finish at the Head of the Charles regatta in Boston and a win at the Head of the Iowa.
Minnesota finished fifth in the Big Ten Championships and Roche was named as a first-team member of the All-Big Ten team. Minnesota finished its season placing eighth at the Lexus South/Central Regional Sprints and was sixth overall in the region.
Four wrestlers inked
Minnesota’s wrestling program announced the signing of four athletes to national letters of intent on Thursday. Graydon Anderson, Brendon Flynn, Travis Lang and Philip Meinert, Jr., have committed to joining the Gophers next season.
Anderson was a four-year letterwinner at Hudson High School and posted a 40-3 record during his senior season.
Flynn won two straight North Dakota Class A State Championships at 189 pounds and compiled a 38-3 record during his senior season.
Lang joins the Golden Gophers from Bismarck High School. A five-year letterwinner, Lang was a four-time North Dakota State Champion and one-time runner-up.
Meinert was a two-time Minnesota State Championship participant and holds his school’s records for wins in a season and in a career.
Golfers take honors
Minnesota men’s golfers Justin Smith and Bronson La’Cassie were named to the All-Midwest Region Team by the Golf Coaches Association of America last week.
Smith, a senior from Moon Township, Pa., led the Gophers this season with a 72.25 stroke average. He recorded seven top- 10 finishes this season and had two tournament wins.
La’Cassie, a freshman from Brisbane, Australia, was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year this season and had six top-10 tournament finishes.
