Biography
2009 OVC All-Tournament
2008 Ohio Valley Conference First-Team
2008 OVC All-Tournament
OVC Player of the Week (April 14, 2008)
2010 OUTLOOK: Has been a leader on the team and has played many different positions during his career, including shortstop, third, second and is one of the best defensive first baseman on the team…will see action at second when Bert Smith is not in the lineup…expected to bat in the middle of the order…is a good on-base player and also has the ability to knock in runs.
SUMMER BASEBALL: Played the 2008 season for the Bethesda (Maryland) Big Train in the Cal Ripkin, Sr., Collegiate Baseball League…batted .316 with three home runs and 12 RBI…earned the team’s Distinguished Leadership Award…was named to the CRSCL All-Star team…played the 2007 season for the Bethesda Big Train with JSU teammates Bert Smith and Clay Whittemore…batted .257 with five doubles, three triples, one home run and 21 RBI…was named to the CRSCL All-Star team.
JSU CAREER: (2009) As a junior, was just one of two players to start all 57 games…finished the season second on the team with a .343 batting average…was second on the team in hits (74) and doubles (19)…finished with 22 multiple-hit games and was the only player to record five hits in a game…had nine multiple-RBI games…finished the second fifth in the OVC in doubles…was named to the OVC All-Tournament team…batted .384 vs right-handers and .466 as leadoff…had a .567 success advancing runners, going 68-for-120 and was second on team with 28 runners advancing without an out…was 5-for-6 with three runs scored to help the Gamecocks to a 16-8 win at No. 6 Georgia on 4/22…drove in a career-high five runs after going 3-for-4 against Eastern Kentucky on 4/25….has his best series vs the Colonels, batting .500 with five RBI and also drawing five walks…hit his first homer of the season at Murray State on 3/21, which was a 3-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game as JSU eventually won 9-8…added another 3-run homer at No. 29 Eastern Illinois on 4/18 as the Gamecocks cruised to a 13-3 win …finished the season on a 7-game hitting streak…(2008) As a red-shirt sophomore, was just one of two players to start all 58 games…finished the season second on the team with a .354 batting average…also was second with hits (81), RBI (58) and walks (28)…was second on the team with 24 multiple-hit games, including three 4-hit games and seven 3-hit games…finished with 15 multiple-RBI games…finished the season ranked ninth in the OVC in batting, tied for second in RBI and was fifth in hits…batted .568 for the season as leadoff and was 21-of-29 (.724) with runner on third and less than two outs…had 22 two-out RBI…had his first 4-hit game of the season vs Murray State on 3/21…also had four hits vs SEMO (4/13) and vs EIU in the OVC Tournament on 5/23…had a career-long 10 game hitting streak (3/30 at APSU thru 4/16 Alabama State)…was named the OVC Player of the Week on 4/14 after hitting .778 (7-9) with five runs scored, a home run and six RBI in three games as JSU sweep SEMO…hit a home run in all three games at Morehead State and drove in a career-best six runs at Morehead State, after going 3-for-7 and scored four runs, on 5/3…(2007) received a medical redshirt after playing in just five games and had three starts before missing the final 55 games with an injury…batted .286, going 4-for-14 with three doubles…was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a pair of doubles in final game at Kennesaw State on 2/27. (2006) As a true freshman, played in 33 games and earned 22 starts…batted .215 and drove in seven runs…recorded his first career hit in the third game of the season at Southeast Louisiana (2/19)…went 3-for-4 with two RBI vs High Point on 3/12…had a season-best four game hitting streak.
HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped four years at Decatur High School for Mike Burns…was a first-team All-Region selection in 2004 and 2005…finished 2004 with a .350 batting average and hit .395 as a senior…was team captain as a senior as team posted a 23-16 record…named to the Decatur Daily All-Area team in both 2004 and 2005…also lettered in football, where he was a first-team All-State selection…named to The Birmingham News All-State and the Decatur Daily All-Area team in 2004 and 2005…was an Honor student…played summer league ball in 2004 for Mike Goode for the Madison Monarchs, where he batted better than .400.
PERSONAL: Full name is Steven Alexander Leach, Jr…son of Steve and Kathy Leach…has two older sisters, Meredith and Emily…born on Nov. 30, 1986…favorite baseball player is Chase Utley…majoring in Marketing at JSU.
Year AVG G-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB-A
2006 .215 33-22 65 9 14 3 0 0 7 15 7 0-1
2007* .286 5-3 14 3 4 3 0 0 0 2 5 0-0
2008 .354 58-58 229 49 81 15 0 4 58 28 27 3-3
2009 .343 57-57 216 40 74 19 1 2 35 39 32 1-3
TOTALS .330 153-140 524 101 173 40 1 6 100 84 71 4-7
*received a medical red-shirt
CAREER HIGHS
AB: 7, at Morehead State (5/3/08)
R: 4, at Morehead State (5/3/08)
H: 5, at #6 Georgia (4/22/09)
2B: 2, 3 times, last vs Tennessee Tech (5/11/08)
3B: 1, UAB (2/24/09)
HR 1, last at Eastern Illinois (4/18/09)
RBI: 6, at Morehead State (5/3/08)
