Burke and Richards Named to Top 100 Senior List
2/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BUFFALO, NY - Two members of the UB baseball team were named to the Perfect Game's list of Top 100 seniors in all of college baseball. Pitcher and third baseman Mike Burke was 57th on the list, and outfielder Thomas Richards came in at number 69. Only Ball State had a player make the list among all Mid-American Conference schools.
Burke is a senior pitcher/shortstop who has been a starter since day one with the program. He has improved in every successive season, topped off last season with a spot on the All-MAC first team after he threw for 101.2 innings over 14 starts, both program records. He threw three complete-game shutouts, struck out 75 batters, and allowed just a .222 batting average. As the team's starting shortstop, he batted .266 with 21 RBI and nine doubles, with a career-best fielding percentage of .950.
Over this last summer, Burke received a different honor from Perfect Game, who named him a Summer League All-American after a big season for the Holyoke Blue Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He led the league with 65 innings pitched and put up a miniscule 0.55 earned run average, with 56 strikeouts and just nine walks allowed. For his efforts, he earned the Robin Roberts Award, recognizing the league's top pitcher.
Richards is also no stranger to the national publisher, as Perfect Game named him the top pro prospect of the Prospect League. He batted .347 and tied for the league lead in home runs after hitting eight. In 49 games, he chipped in 33 RBI and led the Quincy Gems to the league's best-of-three championship series. During the 2013 college season with UB, he batted .254 with five home runs and 25 RBI in 54 games started.
The two will lead the charge as Buffalo aims to improve on last season's record-breaking performance. The Bulls will be back in action on Friday, traveling South for two games apiece versus Virginia Military Institute and Maryland-Eastern Shore.
