A.J. Puk (r) was one of three Team USA pitchers who no-hit Cuba last summer - all from the SEC.
Puk Earns USA Baseball International Performance of the Year
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida junior left-hander A.J. Puk was honored by USA Baseball when the organization released its annual awards on Wednesday, earning USA Baseball's International Performance of the Year for his efforts in a combined no-hitter against Cuba. The game was part of USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team's five-game series with Cuba over the summer.
Puk shared the award with Texas A&M right-hander Ryan Hendrix, Missouri right-hander Tanner Houck and Clemson catcher Chris Okey. Houck worked four pre-determined, perfect innings, not allowing a baserunner and retiring all 12 hitters he faced. Puk started the fifth inning in a scoreless game and tossed four innings, allowing only a leadoff walk and a one-out error. The southpaw picked up the victory after throwing 50 pitches, with 31 going for strikes, and seven of 14 hitters he faced received first-pitch strikes. Hendrix induced three ground ball outs in the ninth to preserve the triumph. The win snapped a five-game winning streak for Cuba against the USA Collegiate National Team and it marks the only time that Cuba's National Team has been no-hit in international play.
As a sophomore for the Gators, Puk made 17 appearances, 14 of which were starts, and was 9-4 with a 3.81 earned run average. With a team-leading 104 strikeouts in 78 innings, the southpaw from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, became the first Gator to reach the century mark in punch-outs since Bryan Augenstein totaled 105 in 2007. He ranked fifth in the SEC in strikeouts and held opposing hitters to a .210 batting average, fourth-lowest in the league. Puk enjoyed a tremendous postseason, compiling a 1.54 ERA in four starts, with a 2-1 record and 30 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.
Last season, Florida went 52-18 and ranked third in the final polls after becoming the only program in the country to earn a top-eight national seed for NCAA play for the sixth time in seven years. The Gators also swept through the Gainesville Regionals and Super Regionals held at McKethan Stadium. Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's club was tabbed as the No. 1 team in all of the preseason polls, while the incoming class has been ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball, the program's seventh consecutive time in the top-eight classes in the country.
Season and single-game tickets for the 2016 Gator Baseball season are on sale and can be purchased online through FloridaGators.com or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Gators kick off their season on Friday, Feb. 19, with the opener of a three-game home series against FGCU at 7 p.m.
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Puk shared the award with Texas A&M right-hander Ryan Hendrix, Missouri right-hander Tanner Houck and Clemson catcher Chris Okey. Houck worked four pre-determined, perfect innings, not allowing a baserunner and retiring all 12 hitters he faced. Puk started the fifth inning in a scoreless game and tossed four innings, allowing only a leadoff walk and a one-out error. The southpaw picked up the victory after throwing 50 pitches, with 31 going for strikes, and seven of 14 hitters he faced received first-pitch strikes. Hendrix induced three ground ball outs in the ninth to preserve the triumph. The win snapped a five-game winning streak for Cuba against the USA Collegiate National Team and it marks the only time that Cuba's National Team has been no-hit in international play.
As a sophomore for the Gators, Puk made 17 appearances, 14 of which were starts, and was 9-4 with a 3.81 earned run average. With a team-leading 104 strikeouts in 78 innings, the southpaw from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, became the first Gator to reach the century mark in punch-outs since Bryan Augenstein totaled 105 in 2007. He ranked fifth in the SEC in strikeouts and held opposing hitters to a .210 batting average, fourth-lowest in the league. Puk enjoyed a tremendous postseason, compiling a 1.54 ERA in four starts, with a 2-1 record and 30 strikeouts in 23.1 innings.
Last season, Florida went 52-18 and ranked third in the final polls after becoming the only program in the country to earn a top-eight national seed for NCAA play for the sixth time in seven years. The Gators also swept through the Gainesville Regionals and Super Regionals held at McKethan Stadium. Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's club was tabbed as the No. 1 team in all of the preseason polls, while the incoming class has been ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball, the program's seventh consecutive time in the top-eight classes in the country.
Season and single-game tickets for the 2016 Gator Baseball season are on sale and can be purchased online through FloridaGators.com or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Gators kick off their season on Friday, Feb. 19, with the opener of a three-game home series against FGCU at 7 p.m.
Follow the Gators
FloridaGators.com
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