Baseball's Burke Wins Padulsky Award

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jeff Burke will be this year's recipient of the Timothy M. Padulsky Award for his work with mentorship, inclusive leadership, and teamwork.  The award is handed out at the Boston College Leadership Award Ceremony on April 28th.

Burke has extensive experience with community service across multiple walks of life.  He worked with the St. Bernard project to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and he's also worked with with the Devlin S-AFE service trip to travel to New Orleans each of the past two years.  As a participant in the Help Educate Through Athletic Responsibility Program, he was involved in a mentorship program with local elementary schools.  And he's also the baseball representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

On the field, Burke's established himself as one of the weekend starters for Boston College after being utilized out of the bullpen last year.  Although 0-4 on the season, he's been one of the larger factors in Boston College's better team ERA this season.  In 38.1 innings, he's allowed 20 earned runs with 21 strikeouts on the year.  The Eagle team ERA has dropped nearly two full runs from last season's total.

Boston College is gearing up for a big week in baseball action, with the Beanpot opening round game against Harvard falling between a game against Dartmouth and a weekend series with former head coach Mik Aoki and Notre Dame in Indiana.

"When you think of the 'Ever to Excel' motto here at BC, he is someone who exemplifies that better than anyone I've ever coached," said head coach Mike Gambino in a statement from the athletics department.  "From his GPA to his community service to how hard he works on the baseball field, he strives to excel in everything he does.  He is an unbelievable kid with high character."

Congratulations to Jeff for all his work this season!