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Ohio State ace Luebke picked by the Padres
Friday, June 08, 2007
Ohio State pitcher Cory Luebke spent Thursday on the golf course with his father, Jeff, and his cousin, Buckeyes quarterback Todd Boeckman.
"I didn't want to spend the day in front of a computer, tracking the draft," Luebke said. "It just took my mind off of baseball for awhile. I've been through the draft twice ... and I tried not to think about it too much."
Extras
The Ohio State junior ace from Maria Stein was selected by the San Diego Padres in the supplemental first round. He was the 63rd pick of baseball's amateur draft. The news capped off an impressive spring for the Marion Local graduate who was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year with a 7-1 record with a minuscule 1.94 ERA, which led the conference.
"I never expected a year like this," Luebke said. "I've been very fortunate. My adviser, who will probably be my agent, Barry Meisner, felt the Padres would be the team. ... They had showed the most interest. It's not the closest team for my parents (Jeff and Nancy), but I'm still ecstatic."
The hard-throwing Luebke shined in the wooden-bat, invitation-only Cape Cod Baseball League last summer. His calling card as a left-hander is his fastball, which has been clocked in the 88-to-92 mph range.
"I've developed a halfway decent slider, and I've improved my mechanics in the last year," said the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Luebke.
Luebke was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 22nd round last year, but opted to return to the Buckeyes.
"I was close to signing with them, but realized I needed some things to work on." Luebke said. "I realize that all the hard work I put in has paid off."
Miami University junior right-hander John Ely of Homewood, Ill., was picked 119th in the third round by the Chicago White Sox. His teammate Graham Connor, a junior pitcher from the town of Bowling Green, was chosen 162nd in the fifth round by the Colorado Rockies.
