Joe Savery - Amateur Career

Amateur Career

A 2004 graduate of Lamar High School, Savery was a 4 year starter and letterman for the Lamar Redskins under Jorge Garza. During his tenure at Lamar, he earned first team all-state and first team all-greater Houston. He was a 3 time first team all-district 18-5a honoree, and was voted the most valuable player in the district in 2004. Joe was named the 2004 Proline player of the year after hitting .556 with 7 homeruns and 40 RBI as a senior. He also went 11-0 on the mound with 93 strikeouts, posting a .53 ERA. Joe lead the Redskins to be nationally ranked in 3 different polls during his senior year.

Savery matriculated to Rice University in August 2004, where he played for the Rice Owls baseball team. Savery concentrated on baseball, starting at first base and in the outfield when not pitching.

As a freshman in 2005, Savery stepped into the starting lineup as opening-day pitcher and a regular in the batting lineup. Savery earned second- and third-team all-America honors while being named National Freshman of the Year and Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He was named first-team all-WAC at pitcher and first base after leading the conference with a .382 batting average and finishing second with a 2.49 ERA. In the postseason, Savery helped Rice to an upset NCAA regional win over LSU at formidable Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. In the NCAA super regional against top-ranked Tulane, Savery broke his right hand in the opening game while making a sliding catch against the Turchin Stadium fence. The injury prevented Savery from hitting, but he pitched into the seventh inning and allowed only one run in Rice's Game 2 loss. Tulane advanced to the 2005 College World Series with a win in Game 3.

As a sophomore in 2006, Savery again earned third-team all-America status despite making only 11 pitching starts due to injury. At the plate, Savery hit .335 and was one of Rice's most dangerous postseason hitters, earning MVP honors in that year's conference tournament and making the all-regional team. He also hit a three-run home run in the decisive third game of the NCAA super regional against Oklahoma, helping the Owls to the 2006 College World Series. At the College World Series, Savery went 3-for-3 in Rice's opening-game win against Georgia but was just 1-for-9 after that.

As a junior in 2007, Savery spent much of the season trying to recover his form on the mound after offseason surgery. He continued to dominate at the plate, leading the Owls in hitting, but struggled with control and efficiency on the mound while posting a sub-3.00 ERA. Savery was named a first-team all-America as a two-way player and earned his second conference Player of the Year award in three seasons. He saved his best for the postseason, leading Rice through the NCAA regional with a Most Outstanding Player performance that included a dominant mound performance in the Sunday clincher against TCU. Four days after the regional, during an emotional pre-super-regional press conference, Savery was selected in the first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. Rice then swept Texas A&M in a tense super regional to advance to the 2007 College World Series. After hitting a homer in the first game against Louisville, Savery finally got to pitch in Omaha and earned the win in a 14-4 defeat of North Carolina.