While Orange Lutheran golf may not be hitting the links this time of year, for Blake this is far from his offseason. He is partaking in a national schedule, where since Trinity League finals he has played two tournaments in Florida, two in South Carolina, and will be traveling to Massachusetts at the end of July. But next for Blake is what some consider to be the US Open of Junior golf, the Junior World Championship at Torrey Pines. Torrey Pines was the host of the 2008 US Open, where Tiger Woods won his last major. Barens was the low score at the qualifier shooting a 66 making himself eligible for the event.

As for Lancer golf, head coach Jeff Anderson is very excited about what Blake has done this summer and likes what it does for his team.

Anderson claims, "It helps the other boys on the team see the success that Blake has had and what he has achieved." He continues, "Blake's achievements are not just a result of his talent, but he puts in the work and is doing what it takes to be a great golfer."

Barens dreams to one day be a professional golfer and is seemingly taking all the right steps to get there. Even through all of this success he is determined to get to the next level and remains humble and proud to be playing for his school and his country over for himself.

Trenton Schlom
Senior Reporter
Lancer Sports Network

SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP)—Another year of losing put the Pittsburgh Pirates in position to draft Gerrit Cole. They hope the fireballing UCLA right-hander helps lead them back to respectability.


“We felt he’d have the biggest potential impact for us of anybody on the board,” general manager Neal Huntington said after taking Cole with the first overall pick Monday night.

Cole, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound junior, was just 6-8 with a 3.31 ERA for the Bruins, but has what many consider to be the best pure stuff in the draft. The Pirates certainly agreed, choosing him first in a draft dominated early by outstanding pitching prospects.

“Obviously, this year wasn’t up to my standards, but I tried to not think about it,” Cole said. “I just control what I can control and let the teams do their evaluation.”

He’s the latest promising young arm that Pittsburgh, which finished with baseball’s worst record a year ago, has added in the past two drafts.
The Pirates, who have 18 straight losing seasons, took a pair of high school right-handers with their first two picks last year in Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie, giving them three potential front-line starters.

“We’re working hard to never pick No. 1,” said Huntington, whose team drafted first for the fourth time in franchise history. “It’s a long process. It’s not an easy thing to turn around a major league team.”

But this is certainly a terrific start. Cole was a first-round pick of the New York Yankees in 2008, but refused to listen to an offer and instead attended UCLA—as he insisted to teams he would. He has a fastball that’s consistently clocked at 95 mph and was up around 100 at times late this season.
Cole’s teammate on the UCLA staff, right-hander Trevor Bauer, wasn’t far behind, going third overall to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The only other time a pair of teammates went in the top three picks was 1978, when Arizona State’s Bob Horner was selected No. 1 by Atlanta and Hubie Brooks went third to the New York Mets.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Bauer, who went 13-2 with a Pac-10-record 203 strikeouts. “It’s awesome for Gerrit and it’s awesome for me. It’s great for the program and UCLA. Just an all-around great day.”