Buckwalter, Perlozzo Drafted On Day Two of Major League Baseball Draft
June 8, 2007
SHIPPENSBURG,
Pa. - Shippensburg baseball seniors Ross Buckwalter
(Ephrata/Ephrata) and Eric Perlozzo (Cumberland, Md./Bishop
Walsh) were both selected on day two of the Major League Baseball Draft Friday,
becoming the fourth Red Raiders in the last four years to be drafted.
Buckwalter was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 26th round
with the 805th overall pick while Perlozzo was chosen by the Baltimore
Orioles in the 35th round with the 1,055th overall pick.
The two were half of the four players from the PSAC to be drafted this
year, joining Mike McCardell from Kutztown who was selected in the
sixth round by the Minnesota Twins with the 212th pick and Frank Gailey
of West Chester who was chosen in the 23rd round by the Blue Jays with
the 715th overall pick.
Since 1979, Shippensburg has had a total of 21 players selected in
the MLB First-Year Player Draft. Another 10 players have signed pro
contracts in the team’s history, including Clyde Barnhart who
won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1927.
A total of 11 Red Raiders have been drafted since 1998 with two being
selected by the Blue Jays. Randy Dicken was selected by Toronto in
the seventh round of the 2004 draft with the 207th overall pick.
Also that year, Evan Englebrook was selected by the Houston Astros
in the eighth round with the 244th overall pick. He is currently 1-1
with a 1.98 ERA in five appearances with the Salem Avalanche, the Astros’ Class
A, Carolina League affiliate. Englebrook began the 2007 season with
Class AA Corpus Christi where he made 11 relief appearances.
In 2006, Nathan Starner signed a free agent contract with the Blue
Jays and is currently with the organization’s Class A, Midwest
League affiliate Lansing Lugnuts. He has made 12 starts this season,
posting a 5-5 record with a 4.50 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 60.0 innings
pitched.
The last Red Raider currently in professional baseball is Paul Abraham
who selected by the Texas Rangers in the 12th round of the 2001 draft,
351st overall. He is currently with the San Antonio Missions, the Class
AA, Texas League affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
In 25 relief appearances, Abraham has a 1-2 record with three saves
and a 2.43 ERA in 29.2 innings. He has also totaled 30 strikeouts.
An All-PSAC Western Division Second Team selection this year, Buckwalter
led the PSAC in both innings pitched and games started, finishing the
season with 85.1 and 12, respectively. He also totaled a 5-3 record
with a 2.85 ERA, five complete games and 60 strikeouts while receiving
North Atlantic Region Second Team honors by the National Collegiate
Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Daktronics, Inc.
The son of Orioles’ manager Sam Perlozzo, Eric Perlozzo earned
his second All-PSAC Western Division Second Team selection in 2007
while earning North Atlantic Region Honorable Mention honors from the
NCBWA as well. He was also named to the North Atlantic Region Championship
All-Tournament Team.
After missing all but five games in 2006, Perlozzo finished his final
collegiate season hitting .295 with eight doubles, 14 steals and 30
runs scored. Defensively, he committed just two errors in 188 chances
at second base for a .989 fielding percentage. In eight postseason
games, Perlozzo hit .469 (15-for-32), drew six walks, stole five bases,
scored eight times and drove in three runs.
Under first-year head coach Matt Jones, Shippensburg went 28-24 overall
en route to winning its first PSAC championship since 2003. The Red
Raiders also made their first NCAA North Atlantic Region Championship
appearance since 2004.
- Red Raider Baseball -
Ross Buckwalter
Eric Perlozzo
