Corey Luebke leads minor league team to California League championship series. – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
COLUMBUS, Ohio Cory Luebke continued his phenomenal season Tuesday as he earned the victory in Lake Elsinore’s 14-7 series-clinching win over Lancaster in the California League playoffs.
The former Ohio State left-hander allowed just one run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings for the Storm, the High Class A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The win gave the Storm a 3-1 series win over Lancaster in the California League’s South Division Championship Series. Lake Elsinore next plays San Jose for the California League Championship in a best-of-five series that begins tonight.
Luebke’s start against Lancaster was perhaps the best of what has been a very successful first year in the minor leagues. Since he was drafted 63rd by San Diego in this June’s amateur draft, Luebke has ascended quickly in the San Diego organization, advancing two levels in less than three months.
He finished the regular season with a 5-3 record and 3.07 ERA in 15 appearances (nine starts) for Eugene, Fort Wayne, and Lake Elsinore combined. He has pitched even more effectively in the playoffs, posting a 2.45 ERA in two starts despite making only two appearances for Lake Elsinore during the regular season.
His stellar minor league performance follows a tremendous season at Ohio State this past spring, when he went 9-1 with a 2.07 ERA in 16 starts for the Buckeyes. He was the Big Ten’s Pitcher of the Year, a unanimous selection to the All-Big 10 First Team and led the conference in ERA, strikeouts (98) and innings pitched (117 2/3).
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