T-Town Boxscores: Semis | Finals >>> 2011 EIU Recruiting Class

Effingham Daily News Coverage: Preview | Postgame

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois baseball signee Luke Bushur helped his Teutopolis High School team win the Illinois High School Association Class 2A state championship the first weekend of June, earning the victory on the mound in the semifinals.

 

Bushur, a righthanded pitcher, finished his senior season with a 10-0 record. In the fall, he was one of seven recruits that signed National Letters of Intent to attend EIU and play for the Panthers.

 

Behind Bushur's 10 strikeouts, Teutopolis (31-4) defeated Elmhurst-Immaculate Conception High School, 9-4, in the semifinals Friday at Silver Cross Field in Joliet. Bushur also played third base in the 5-1 championship game victory against Harrisburg High School, which entered the day undefeated.

 

Bushur was charged with two earned runs in his complete-game effort against Immaculate Conception. He threw 110 pitches and did not issue a walk.

 

The Effingham Daily News reported that Bushur finished the season with a sub-1.00 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings. He issued only 14 walks.

 

“It's pure excitement,” Bushur told the Effingham Daily News' Bill Grimes before the semifinal game. “I've been dreaming about going to state since I was a little kid. Doing it as a senior is a positive note to end your high school career.”

 

Fellow 2011 signee Ryan Hartman of Mount Zion is projected to be selected in this week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player, which begins Monday and concludes Wednesday. The majority of the draft will be held all day Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

Current Panthers Josh Mueller and Mike Recchia are also expected to be drafted. Hartman, Mueller and Recchia would all have the option to return to EIU for the 2010-11 school year and season.