Sept. 5, 2008

University of Dayton sophomore pitcher Burny Mitchem has been named one of the top prospects in college baseball. The honor came in the latest edition of Baseball America, which rated the top players in the 19 summer college baseball leagues.

Mitchem, who played for the Columbus All-Americans this past summer, was ranked the #2 prospect in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. It's the latest honor for Mitchem, who in the last four months was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team, the GLSCL All-Star Team, the 2008 All-PING! Freshman Team and First Team All-Great Lakes League.

The Farmington, Michigan native was 2-2 with a 2.04 ERA for Columbus. He held opponents to a .207 batting average, and in 39.2 innings, he struck out 49 and walked just 12. As a freshman for Dayton in 2008, he tied for the team lead with five wins, which all came against Atlantic 10 opponents. He also led the UD pitching staff with four saves and a 2.06 ERA while making in a UD freshman record 22 appearances. The 6-6 righthander struck out 61 batters in 39.1 innings pitched.

Mitchem was one of ten Atlantic 10 players ranked by Baseball America. Also ranked were GW pitcher Eric Cantrell (#2, Clark Griffith), Rhode Island pitcher Luke Demko (#9, Coastal Plain)GW pitcher Jim Duggan (#10, Clark Griffith), Fordham pitcher John Flanagan (#8, Atlantic Collegiate), Richmond pitcher Jay Joines (#9, Clark Griffith), Xavier pitcher Charlie Leeman (#5, Great Lakes), GW pitcher Pat Lehman (#8, New England Collegiate), Charlotte outfielder/1B Rob Lyerly (#5, Northwoods) and Saint Louis shortstop Jon Meyers (#10, Central Illinois).

Dayton had a 31-25 overall record in 2008 to finish seventh in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference. UD posted its fifth 30-win season in program history, which have all come since 2001 under the direction of head coach Tony Vittorio. The Flyer pitching staff was one of the best overall in the nation with a 4.24 ERA that led the A-10 and was 31st in Division I.