Bruins’ Derrick Jones a Finalist For OSA’s Rutschman Award

Other candidates are baseball player Nick Waechter of Western Oregon University, basketball player Eric Fiegi of Corban College, and track and field athletes Symmonds and Scott Halley of Concordia University-Portland.

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NEWBERG - Former George Fox University baseball star Derrick Jones has been selected as one of five finalists for the 2006 Ad Rutschman Small College Male Athlete of the Year Award, which will be presented at the 55th annual Oregon Sports Awards on Sunday, Feb. 11th, at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike World Campus in Beaverton.

Jones, a versatile player from Forest Grove, and a graduate of Forest Grove High School, capped off a four-year George Fox career by being named the 2006 Northwest Conference Player of the Year.

He batted a solid .364 with six home runs, 14 doubles, and 42 RBI as the Bruins’ designated hitter and clean-up man, and went 6-3 as the team’s No. 1 starter with a 3.21 ERA and league-leading 70 strikeouts.

His efforts helped the Bruins to their fifth straight NWC title and a third-place finish in the NCAA Division III West Regional.

He was a Second Team All-Region selection as the utility player.

In 2005, Jones was named NWC Co-Pitcher of the Year when he went 9-1 with a 2.50 ERA and 73 strikeouts.

He went on to earn NCAA Division III All-West Region and All-America First Team honors as a utility player with a .377 batting average, 17 doubles, 10 home runs, and 63 RBI.

The Bruins posted a 132-50 record during Jones’ playing career, winning or sharing NWC championships in all four seasons, making three NCAA playoff appearances, and winning the Division III World Series in 2004.

Jones slugged a seventh-inning solo home run to ice the 2004 title game, a 6-3 win over Eastern Connecticut State University.

On the hill, Jones posted a career mark of 22-5 with seven saves, a 3.04 earned run average, and 174 strikeouts in 177.2 innings for the Bruins.

He ranks sixth all-time at George Fox in wins, second in saves, fourth in ERA, tied for sixth in strikeouts, and seventh in innings pitched.

At the plate, he batted .345 with 181 hits, 46 doubles, 22 home runs, 139 runs batted in, and 139 runs scored.

He is sixth all-time in hits, second in doubles, sixth in home runs, fourth in RBI, and seventh in runs.

His slugging percentage of ..574 ranks ninth, his 82 walks are third, and he is the Bruins’ career leader in sacrifice flies with 11.

After concluding his George Fox career, Jones signed a free-agent contract with the Texas Rangers and posted a 1-0 record with one save and a 2.66 ERA with Spokane in the Class A Northwest League this past summer.

One of four members of the 2004 championship team to play professional baseball, he has been invited back by the Rangers for another season in 2007.

Two other George Fox athletes were nominated for the Rutschman Awards but did not make the final cut.

Seth Harris was the NWC Men’s Co-Athlete of the Meet, along with Nick Symmonds of Willamette University, after winning league titles in the decathlon, long jump, 4x400 relays, and placing second in the 110 hurdles, then earning All-America honors with a fifth-place finish in the decathlon at the NCAA Division III National Championships.

He was also an All-American in the 2005 NCAA nationals with a sixth-place finish in the 400 meter hurdles.

Lindsay Blankenship won the 2006 NWC women’s hammer with a school and conference record throw of 172-04, then earned All-America status at the national championships with an eighth-place finish.

Other candidates for the men’s Rutschman Award are baseball player Nick Waechter of Western Oregon University, basketball player Eric Fiegi of Corban College, and track and field athletes Symmonds and Scott Halley of Concordia University-Portland.

Nominees for the Rutschman Female Athlete of the Year are Pacific University’s DeeDee Arnall for basketball and track and field and Brooke Barker for track and field, Concordia’s Lauren Sexton for track and field, Linfield College’s Shelly Steinke for softball, and Willamette’s Sarah Zerzan for track and field.

The Oregon Sports Awards continues the tradition of the Hayward Award, which originated in 1948 to honor Oregon’s finest athletes, coaches and sports personalities from the high school, college, amateur and professional fields.

Awards will be given out in 13 different categories.

A statewide panel selected the 70-plus finalists and semifinalists as well as the winners.

Also awarded that night will be the Lou Burge Special Olympics Athlete of the Year, the Les Schwab Friend of Sports Award, and two Merit Awards.

The program begins at 7:00 PM and will be televised live by Comcast (14) and simulcast on 1080 AM The Fan, with pre-event coverage beginning at 5:30 PM.

The show host will be Ahmad Rashad, a former University of Oregon Duck and NFL football star, an Emmy-award winning sportscaster, and the host and executive producer of NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased for $50 by calling 503-721-7477, ext. 12

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