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Gassner Nears Majors
 
Former Boilermaker having success at AAA level
 
 
 

 
Dave Gassner pitched for the Purdue Boilermakers from 1998-2001 and ranks in the career top five in strikeouts and innings pitched.
 
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June 3, 2004

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - With the 2004 Major League Baseball draft just around the corner, attention is naturally shifted from the college players of the past to the potential professional stars of the future. That is until a former collegiate star nears the goal of all professionals - the major leagues.

Dave Gassner pitched for the Purdue Boilermakers for four seasons and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in June 2001. In three seasons in the minor leagues with affiliates of the Blue Jays, including one game at the AAA level in both 2002 and 2003, the lefthanded hurler was traded to the Minnesota Twins on December 16, 2003.

The trade gave Gassner a chance to show the world he belongs on a higher stage.

In 10 starts with the Rochester Red Wings, the AAA affiliate of the Twins, Gassner is 6-3 with an earned run average of 3.56. His six wins are tied for the team lead and ranks second in the International League.

In three-plus seasons in professional baseball, the Purdue product has a career record of 33-20 with a 3.13 ERA in over 450 innings on the hill. Gassner has demonstrated his ability as a quality control pitcher, striking out 299 batters against only 82 walks, an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.6:1. That ratio improves to 4.7:1 this season, as Gassner has fanned 33 in 2004 with just seven free passes.

A four-year letterwinner at Purdue from 1998-2001, Gassner was a first team All-Big Ten honoree in his final season in the old gold and black. The southpaw struck out 218 batters during his tenure as a Boilermaker, ranking third on the Purdue career list in that category. His 280 innings on the hill ranks fourth on the Boilermaker career list.

Gassner brings the Rochester Red Wings back to Boilermaker country this weekend with a three-game series against the Indianapolis Indiana at Victory Field in Indianapolis. Gassner is slated to start on the mound for the Red Wings in Thursday evening's series opener, scheduled for a 7 p.m first pitch.

 

 

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