Citadel duo taken on MLB Draft's third day
CHARLESTON, S.C. – A pair of Citadel juniors – first baseman/designated hitter Bo Thompson and second baseman Mason Davis – have been selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Thompson was taken by the New York Yankees in the 13th round, while Davis went to the Miami Marlins in the 19th round. They are the 30th and 31st Bulldogs who played for Fred Jordan to be drafted over the past 23 years.
Thompson is the second Citadel player chosen by the 27-time World Series champions, joining Brian Rogers, who went to the Yankees in the 1998. Davis is the third Bulldog drafted by the Marlins, who also picked Terrence Smalls in 1998 and Philip Hartig in 2000.
This is the second straight year that two Citadel players were drafted. Catcher Joe Jackson went to the Texas Rangers in the fifth round last year, while pitcher Austin Pritcher went in the 19th round to the Detroit Tigers.
Thompson started all 58 games during his junior season and led The Citadel with nine home runs while batting .315 with 42 RBIs and 39 runs scored. He was second in the Southern Conference in on-base percentage at .468 on the strength of 41 walks and a school single-season record 22 hit by pitches.
He was named second-team all-conference as the designated hitter by both the coaches and media for the second straight season.
The Mauldin, S.C., native played in 171 games with 163 starts the past three seasons and belted 26 home runs, the ninth-highest total in school history. As a sophomore in 2013, Thompson ranked 20th in the nation with 14 home runs, including three in one game against Samford, and was selected to compete in the TD Ameritrade Home Run Derby in Omaha, Neb.
In addition to his home run total, Thompson drove in 122 runs, scored 99 times and boasted a slugging percentage of .465.
Davis has been entrenched at second base over the past three years, starting all but one of The Citadel's 176 games during that span. In 57 games during the 2014 campaign, he batted .310 with 13 doubles, 45 runs scored and 25 RBIs. His 27 stolen bases ranked second in the SoCon and were the most by a Bulldog since Chris Ard had 29 in 2005.
Davis has a career batting average of .294 with 222 hits, 138 runs scored and 33 doubles, and his 63 stolen bases are good for 14th in school history. The Conyers, Ga., product ranked in the top 10 in the SoCon in seven categories in 2013 and was 23rd nationally with 62 runs scored en route to being named second team all-conference by the league's coaches.
Elon’s Pennell drafted by Tampa Bay Rays
ELON, N.C. – For the eighth consecutive year, an Elon baseball player has been chosen in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, as senior left-handed pitcher Ryan Pennell was snared by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 22nd round of the 2014 draft.
Pennell posted a team-leading 3.52 ERA in 21 appearances out of the bullpen during his senior season in the maroon and gold. He logged 30 2/3 innings, striking out 32 hitters and walking 19 while holding opponents to a .225 batting average. His 12 saves in 2014 were the second-most ever by an Elon pitcher in a season and rank Pennell sixth on the program's career saves chart. Pennell was a nominee for the 2014 Stopper of the Year Award.
In his four seasons with the Phoenix, Pennell made 64 appearances, all out of the bullpen. He went 5-6 with a 5.58 career ERA. He tossed 88 2/3 innings, recording 78 strikeouts. In that span, opponents posted a .248 batting average off the hard-throwing lefty.
As the 667th overall pick, Pennell is the highest Elon pitcher selected in the MLB Draft since Jimmy Reyes went to the Texas Rangers with the 226th overall pick (seventh round) in 2010. Former Elon pitcher Jim Stokes was also taken in the 22nd round in 2012 but was the 683rd overall selection by the Cleveland Indians.
Pair of Furman pitchers drafted
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman pitcher Jacques de Gruy has been selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 26th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, while senior Tyler Wood has been selected by the San Diego Padres in the 37th. Additionally, Paladin signee Will Gaddis has been tabbed by the New Yankees in the 36th round, it was announced on Saturday evening.
De Gruy, a 6-foot-4 right-hander, was the seventh pick of the 26th round and 772nd pick overall.
The native of Dallas, Texas, posted a 4-4 record and 5.61 ERA in 19 appearances, including 10 starts, for the Paladins during the 2014 season. He limited opponents to just 66 hits in 69 innings of work while fanning 66 batters and walking 31. He held the opposition to a .254 batting average.
Over his final five starts of the regular season, de Gruy fashioned a 3-0 record and 2.33 ERA while allowing only 21 hits in 34 2/3 innings on the mound. The senior hurler captured Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week honors on May 5 after tossing 9 2/3 innings of shutout ball in a 1-0 Furman loss to Georgia Southern. He limited the Eagles to just four hits and struck out five batters en route to a no decision.
Wood, the 12th pick of the 37th round and 1,107th overall selection, went 5-2 with a 4.73 ERA in 18 appearances for the Paladins in 2014. The St. Louis, Mo., native propelled the Paladins into the semifinal round of last month’s Southern Conference tournament by tossing 8 2/3 innings of two-hit ball without allowing an earned run in Furman’s 3-1 victory over Appalachian State.
The 6-foot-4 right-hander, who fanned 55 batters and walked 19 in 66 1/3 innings of work as a senior, held SoCon regular-season champion Western Carolina to only one run on seven hits in eight innings during a 6-1, series clinching victory over the Catamounts in Cullowhee, N.C., on April 13.
Gaddis, a 6-foot-1 right-hander from Brentwood (Tenn.) High School, was taken by the Yankees in the 36th round with the 1,082nd overall pick. The prep senior led his team to a Region 6-AAA championship this spring and tossed a 1-0 shutout against Clarksville in the AAA sectionals to send Brentwood to the state playoffs.
With the selection of de Gruy, Wood and Gaddis in the MLB Draft on Saturday, six players with Furman ties have been drafted in the last two seasons. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim picked Paladin standouts Nate Smith (LHP), Ben Carlson (RHP) and Taylor Johnson (OF) in last year’s draft.
Two Georgia Southern pitchers drafted Saturday
STATESBORO, Ga. – Two Georgia Southern Eagles were selected in the final day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Saturday.
Josh Wirsu and Eric Alonzo became the second and third Eagles taken in the 2014 draft. The two joined Sam Howard, who was a third-round pick of the Colorado Rockies. Wirsu was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 30th round, and Alonzo was a 40th-round selection of the Los Angles Angels of Anaheim.
Wirsu, the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year, was a staple in Georgia Southern's rotation this season and was 9-3 with a 2.44 ERA. Wirsu started 16 games, including the Southern Conference Championship title game and an NCAA Regional contest against Kennesaw State. The junior right-hander was one of two Eagles with more than 90 strikeouts and allowed 75 hits in 96 innings.
Alonzo was one of GSU's top options out of the bullpen and ranked third on the team with 27 appearances. Alonzo went 3-4 with a 3.61 ERA and made three starts in 2014. The junior right-hander struck out 42 and walked just 16 batters in 52 1/3 innings pitched.
UNCG’s Thompson drafted in 31st round
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG senior RHP Dylan Thompson was selected by the Colorado Rockies on Saturday in the 31st round of the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Thompson is the second Spartan drafted by the Rockies, joining Joey DeAngelis (1994). With Thompson’s selection, UNCG has had at least two players drafted in consecutive seasons. The Blue and Gold has also had three pitchers picked in the last two years.
As the Spartans’ Sunday starter this season, Thompson threw 59 1/3 innings and recorded 31 strikeouts in 14 appearances. He also allowed just one home run the entire season. Thompson picked up his first victory of the season March 22 in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of Furman, tossing six complete innings and giving up just three earned runs on seven hits with a career-high eight strikeouts. He then recorded a victory in the series finale and sweep-clinching 13-4 rout of Elon April 27, hurling 6 2/3 innings and striking out three batters.
In his junior campaign following his transfer to UNCG from Guilford Technical Community College, Thompson made 20 appearances and started four games on the bump. He tossed 27 2/3 innings and tallied 17 strikeouts against just nine walks while contributing to one of two UNCG shutouts - throwing a perfect inning in UNCG’s 9-0 whitewashing of Albany on March 2.
Thompson picked up the win in the series finale against Army Feb. 17, hurling 2 2/3 innings and giving up just one earned run while adding a strikeout. He also fanned multiple batters in four appearances and threw a season-best 4 2/3 innings against Dayton on Feb. 24.
Two Samford players drafted Saturday
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford shortstop Tyler Filliben and third baseman Tripp Martin were both selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Saturday afternoon.
Filliben was taken in the 12th round with the 371st overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Filliben, a junior from South Miami, Fla., hit .293 with eight doubles, eight home runs and 43 RBIs in 2014.
Filliben led the team in triples with five, and he had a team-high 16-game hit streak during the season. His five triples also tied for fourth in the Southern Conference. He also ranked third in the SoCon in runs scored with 51.
Martin was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 22nd round of the draft with the 666th overall pick. Martin, who transferred to Samford from Coastal Carolina, led the team with 11 home runs this season.
A native of Pelham, Ala., Martin ranked second on the squad in doubles with 15. He also drove in 36 runs for the Bulldogs in 2014. Martin tied for fifth in the SoCon in home runs (11).
Samford has now had 15 players taken in the MLB Draft over the last four years. Prior to this season, four Bulldogs were drafted in 2011, seven Samford players were taken in 2012 and two were drafted in 2013. Prior to the current run, Samford had never had more than one player drafted in a single year in program history.
Two Western Carolina players drafted on final day
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina baseball had two more players selected in Saturday’s final day of the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, as junior right-handed pitcher Jeremy Null and senior shortstop Aaron Attaway were both selected, joining senior catcher Adam Martin, who was a 10th-round, day-two pick.
Null was a 15th-round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs with the 439th overall pick, while Attaway was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 594th overall pick in the 20th round. It is the second time Null has been drafted, as the Claremont, N.C., native was picked out of high school by the Seattle Mariners in the 37th round of the 2011 MLB Draft.
WCU’s three selections in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft mark the most for the Catamount since having four drafted in 2009. Under head coach Bobby Moranda, 14 different WCU players have been drafted since 2008.
The preseason Pitcher of the Year in the Southern Conference, Null finished his junior season with 19 career victories for WCU, boasting a career ERA of 3.70. He was honored four times by the league as its pitcher of the week, including a conference-leading three times in 2014. He also garnered a pair of Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week plaudits from Collegiate Baseball, as well as a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Pitcher of the Week accolades following his 12-strikeout performance against No. 2 Mississippi State in the 2014 season-opener – the second consecutive year he opened the season with double-digit Ks.
This past season, Null finished the year with a 6-4 overall record, posting a team-high 93 strikeouts to rank second in the SoCon with a 2.94 ERA – fifth best among SoCon pitchers. He recorded five or more strikeouts in 12 of his season appearances, tallying eight or more six times. In his final regular-season appearance in Cullowhee, Null struck out nine in tossing his first complete game, securing the 2014 SoCon regular-season championship and back-to-back titles for the Catamounts.
Attaway etched his name on the WCU career record books over his four-year career. He ranked 19th in program history in career games played (212), while his 206 career starts rank him eighth on the school ledgers. He started every game of his first three seasons, carrying that streak into his senior campaign until a wrist injury sidelined him during the UNCG series, halting his ironman streak of starting each game at 196.
The Morganton, N.C., product additionally ranks in WCU’s career record books in at-bats (fifth, 858), hits (11th-t, 264), stolen bases (15th-t, 41) and career runs scored (16th-t, 180). He holds the distinction of hitting for the cycle in a game twice – once as a junior in an extra-innings win at Furman and again as a senior in a home victory over La Salle.
A three-time preseason All-America selection and the preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year entering his senior campaign, Attaway was a first-team All-SoCon selection following his junior year – a season that also saw him grace national award watch lists like the Brooks Wallace Award and Dick Howser Trophy. He hit a career-best .363 as a junior, closing his career with a collective .308 batting average.