Wallace named a finalist for Golden Spikes Award

June 03, 2008

Arizona State junior third baseman and two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year Brett Wallace has been named a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation's premier amateur baseball player. Wallace becomes the 8th Sun Devil be names a Golden Spikes Award finalist and the first since Dustin Pedroia in 2004.

Wallace (Sonoma, Calif.) was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year for the second straight after leading the Pac-10 in six categories, including batting average (.414), hits (94), runs (83), RBI (81), total bases (173) and home runs (21). Wallace was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award last season.

Three Sun Devils have won the Golden Spikes Award, including the first ever winner, Bob Horner, in 1978. Oddibe McDowell won the award in 1984 and Mike Kelly won in 1991. Kelly (1990), Paul Lo Duca (1993), Jacob Cruz (1994) and Pedroia (2004) were Sun Devils who were finalists for the award.

The 2008 Golden Spikes Award will be given out on July 16 as part of Major League Baseball's All-Star Week in New York City.