Bittle Named To Two Preseason Watch Lists

OXFORD, Miss. Ole Miss senior right-hander Scott Bittle found himself named to a pair of prestigious watch lists on Tuesday when he was selected as a candidate for the Stopper of the Year and the Golden Spikes Player of the Year.

The Stopper of the Year is presented annually to the nation’s top relief pitcher by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association, while the Golden Spikes Award is presented to the nation’s top overall player annually by USA Baseball.

Bittle was a finalist for Stopper of the Year in 2008 and is one of two finalists who are on the preseason list in 2009 as UC Irvine’s Eric Pettis joins him on the list.

USA Baseball announced its preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List Tuesday, marking the organization’s first step toward identifying the top player in college baseball.  Sponsored by Major League Baseball, the Golden Spikes Award will be presented in 2009 for the 32nd time.

The watch list features 50 of the nation’s top collegiate talents, and it will be a “rolling” list to ensure that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the Golden Spikes Award.

Bittle is the top returning pitcher for the Rebels as the right-handed closer chose to return to Ole Miss for his senior season after being drafted by the New York Yankees with the 75th overall pick of the 2008 MLB Draft. He also garnered All-America honors from Baseball America, Rivals.com and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association.

As a junior last season, Bittle led the nation in strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched and tallied 130 strikeouts on the season. The 130 strikeouts is third all-time on the single season list behind Lance Lynn and Will Kline, who set the top two marks during the 2007 season.

The junior led the Southeastern Conference in strikeouts during the regular season, earning All-SEC Second Team honors as he also was named a semi-finalist for the Clemens Award and the Stopper of the Year.

Bittle posted an 7-1 mark on the season, picking up wins in relief over Mississippi State, No. 6 Vanderbilt, at No. 8 Georgia, Auburn, at No. 20 Kentucky and against No. 12 Missouri to send the Rebels to the NCAA Coral Gables Regional Championship game. In the win over Missouri, Bittle struck out a career-high 12 batters in 4.1 innings pitched and accounted for all 13 outs in his time on the mound.

Bittle also posted eight saves on the season, including preserving Rebel victories over Southern Miss, LSU, at No. 10 South Carolina, Arkansas and No. 6 Georgia in the SEC Tournament.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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