Summer Collegiate Standouts - Lee Zerrusen

15 saves and a 1.69 earned run average lands summer collegiate baseball standout Lee Zerrusen high on the list for the 2009 summer season. The University of Illinois junior tied for the league lead in saves with 15 while pitching for the Fayetteville Swampdogs of the Costal Plain League. Lee was also voted to the Costal Plain League American All Star team and pitched a scoreless inning and struck out two. Final summer stats for Lee Zerrusen are a 24 appearances, 1-1 record, 1.69 ERA, 15 saves, 32 innings, 15 hits 37 K's and 10 walks. 

Summer Collegiate League Standouts - Zach Amrein

Next up is Zach Amrein - who played with the Cillicicothe Mudcats in the MINK league over the past summer and is now headed to Illinois State University.  The 2007 Carmel Catholic graduate and 2009 Lake County Community College all region player had a dual role over the summer.  In 24 game with the Mudcats Zach hit .275 with 5 doubles and went 1-0 on the mound with an ERA of 0.00.  Zach also received All-American honorable mention accolades after hitting .430 with 11 home runs and 70 RBIs at Lake County.

Even though he's right-handed, Amrein taught himself to throw lefty when he insisted on catching the ball with his dominant hand as a kid. He also bats from the left side. In his first tryout at Carmel Catholic, Amrein brought both a right and left-handed glove -- just in case!

Summer Collegiate League Standouts - Ryan Camp

The third addition of Summer Collegiate Baseball Standouts highlights Ryan Camp from Mapleton Illinois who had a perfect 5-0 record for the Vienna Senators of the Clark C. Griffith Collegiate Baseball League this past summer.  In his 42.2 innings Ryan struck out 44 batters only allowing 33 hits and finished with a 2.74 ERA.  His numbers with the Vienna Senators posted him 5th in the league in ERA, 3rd in opposing batting average, 3rd in strikeouts and tied for 2nd in batters struck out looking.  Ryan also helped Vienna capture the Clark C. Griffith league title for 2009.

Ryan is a 6'3" 215lb sophomore at Illinois State University and attended Limestone Community High School in Bartonville, Illinois.

Summer Collegiate League Standouts - Tony Bucciferro

Our second addition to the Summer Collegiate Baseball Standout list is Tony Bucciferro from Joliet Illinois who played for the Grand Lake Mariners in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.  Tony is listed as the #9 propect overall in the Great Lakes Collegiate League by going 4-2 with a tiny 1.74 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 41 innings over the past summer.  More than one Manager in the Great Lakes League stated Bucciferro's slider was the best in the league.  More impressive is the 88-92 mph heavy fastball and the fact that Tony is only going to be a sophomore this season at Michigan State University.  His stats at Michigan State as a freshman are also quite impressive going 5-2 with a 3.55 ERA (led all starters) in 71 innings.

Tony is a 6'2" 190 lb right handed pitcher from Minooka Community High School in Illinois.

Summer Collegiate League Standouts - Baseball in Illinois

Each week Baseball in Illinois will find a baseball player from the state of Illinois who had a great summer in 2009.  The list will be a report based on the 2009 summer statistics only. 

First up from the Prospect League is Richie Derbak a right handed pitcher from Eastern Illinois University who played last summer for the Quincy Gems.  Last summer Richie led the Prospect League with a miniscule ERA of 1.10 in 49 innings pitched.  His numbers get even better as he struck out 63 and only walked 9 with a perfect 4-0 record.  But wait...there is more - Richie also hit .266 in 124 at bats, poked 7 doubles a triple and one dinger. 

Richie will be a senior at Eastern Illinois University and the 6'-1" 180 pounder is from Lebanon, Illinois and Trenton-Wescliin High School in Illinois.