Nick Schmidt Named Golden Spikes Semifinalist

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas junior left-handed pitcher Nick Schmidt was named a semifinalist for the 2007 Golden Spikes Award USA Baseball announced on Wednesday.

The St. Louis, Mo., native is one of 50 collegiate baseball players named as semifinalists for the 2007 Golden Spikes Award and one of nine in the Southeastern Conference.

Schmidt has a 9-1 record, a 2.40 ERA and a .189 opponent batting average in 90 innings this season. He has also been extremely effective in SEC play this season with a 5-1 record and a 3.29 ERA.

Schmidt is the Razorbacks’ all-time leader in strikeouts with 319 while ranking tied for third in victories (26), second in games started (47), third innings pitched (306.1) and sixth in ERA (2.76).

This year will mark the 30th consecutive year that the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award has been presented to the nation’s premier amateur baseball player. The winner’s name will be announced on June 29, 2007, during the 2007 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Show presented by Major League Baseball.

In total, 40 college and universities are represented on the 2007 semifinalist list. Among conferences, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) landed 10 players on the list, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) 9 players, the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) 6 players, and the Big-12 Conference 5 players.

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