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| Getting To Know Ben Summerhays |
General: Made a tremendous comeback to begin his collegiate baseball career last season after major surgery on both knees forced him to miss the 2003 campaign Spent the 2001 and 2002 seasons on a Mormon mission in Australia Has worked very hard to get back to the point where he is now Has more power offensively than anyone on the team and has an inside shot at earning the team's starting designated hitter spot, especially versus right-handed pitching Also is capable of providing rest for John Mayberry, Jr. as a capable defensive first baseman Expected to be the team's top lefthanded bat off the bench in games in which he does not start.
As A Junior In 2005: Hitting .188 with a double and four RBI in 21 games played Hitless in his last five at bats after picking up three hits in his previous six at bats Has walked 11 times and been hit by four pitches with just 32 official at bats to help post an on-base percentage of .447 that leads the team.
Individual Game Notes (2005)
| Game-By-Game Statistics4/24 vs. Washington - 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI ... recorded both the first multiple-hit and multiple-RBI games of his career, as well as the first extra-base hit |
As A Sophomore in 2004: Hit .167 with a run scored, an RBI, a walk and a hit batsmen in 10 appearances off the bench Had hits in two of his first six at bats before going hitless in his final six at bats Played in all three games of a non-conference series at USC from March 5-7 Played in a pair of Pac-10 games off the bench but did not have a hit in three official at bats.
Individual Game Notes (2004)
| Game-By-Game Statistics 3/24 at Santa Clara - Had his only defensive action of the campaign with a season-high two putouts at first base 3/7 at USC - 1-2, RBI ... first collegiate RBI 3/6 at USC - first collegiate walk 3/5 at USC - first collegiate hit and run scored 2/21 vs. Texas - Made collegiate debut as a pinch-hitter |
As A Freshman in 2003:Missed the entire season due to knee injuries.
High School: A 2000 graduate of Murray High School Twice named an honorable mention All-American by USA Today (1999, 2000) The first player from his school to be named First Team All-State three times, while also earning a trio of All-Region honors (1998-2000) Named MVP at the 2000 Utah Senior All-Star Game Hit 11 homers with a .585 batting average in his senior year Had a 2.36 ERA on the mound in his junior campaign, while chipping in with nine homers and a .485 batting average at the plate Broke school records in single-season wins (9), career wins (24), single-season strikeouts (113) and career strikeouts (256) on the mound Led his team to two straight Regional titles (1998, '99) Coached by Bill Siebenberg.
Other Amateur Baseball: Played during the summer of 2004 with the Santa Barbara Foresters, hitting .283 with a homer, six RBI and four stolen bases in 25 games and 17 starts for the California Coastal League champions that finished the season with a 39-12 record overall, an 18-6 CCL mark and a 4-2 record at the National Baseball Congress World Series Returned to the field in the summer of 2003 after having missed the summer of 2002 due to his knee injuries, playing for Northern Ohio of the Great Lakes Summer League Led the 2001 Port Pirie (Australia) Panthers to the Port Pirie Night Baseball League title and was named the Co-MVP of the conference while on a two-year Mormon mission Down Under Won the Best Hitter Award at a 1999 Team One National Showcase in Albuquerque, New Mexico Played with the Murray Spartans (1997-2000).
MLB First-Year Player Draft: Selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 23rd round of the 2004 draft as a draft-eligible sophomore but did not sign a professional baseball contract.
Career Game Highs
AB - 2, three times, last at UCLA (4/2/04)
R - 1, at USC (3/5/04)
H - 1, twice, last at USC (3/7/04)
RBI - 1, at USC (3/7/04)
Hit Streak - 2 games (3/5/04 - 3/7/04)
| Born: | |
| Parents: | Dan and Connie Summerhays |
| Wife: | Married to the former Natalie Jacobs...Stanford's only married baseball player |
| Old Man: | Stanford's oldest player at the age of 23 |
| Major: | African & African and American Studies |
| Golf Relative: | Distant cousin is Senior PGA Tour member Bruce Summerhays |
| Hobbies: | Playing guitar and drawing with pastels and pencils |
| Comeback Kid: | He has recovered from surgeries to both knees that threatened his career as a competitive baseball player |
Last Updated: 10/12/05