University of Arizona Athletics

            TUCSON, Ariz. ?- Arizona sophomore Preston Guilmet has been named one of 50 semi-finalists nationwide for the Golden Spikes Award, USA Baseball announced on Tuesday. The award is presented to the nation’s top amateur baseball player and was won by UA’s Terry Francona in 1980.

            Guilmet (8-1), who suffered his first loss of the season last Friday at UCLA, has put together an impressive 2007 season. The right-hander, who is on the watch list for the 2007 Roger Clemens Award as well, enters the week of play first in the Pac-10 Conference in ERA (1.80) and strikeouts (104). He has tossed nine innings in a start four times this season and has three complete game wins to his credit. He struck out a career-high 15 hitters in a complete game win at Stanford and has punched out double digit hitters in five starts this year. He has been named the Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger National Pitcher of the Week twice in 2007 and has been feted with Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors a school record three times as well. As a team, the Wildcats are 11-1 in games started by the sophomore from Citrus Heights, Calif.

            Along with Francona’s award-winning season in 1980, Alan Zinter (1989) and Trevor Crowe (2005) have each advanced to the finalist round of voting for the prestigious award.

USA Baseball has instituted a new selection and balloting procedure for the most prestigious award in amateur baseball this year. After accepting nominations from sports information directors across the country, a committee voted to determine the 50 semi-finalists. The names of the 50 semi-finalists will now be forwarded to a voting body of 125 who will select the 5 finalists and the eventual 2007 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Winner.

2007 Golden Spikes Award Semi-Finalists