| Relief pitcher Drew O'Neil was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, becoming the first Penn State player to be taken in the draft since 2005. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; June 8, 2007 ?C A total of five Penn State baseball players were selected on Friday in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, tying a school record for the most in any single draft. The five draftees is also the most of any Big Ten school this year, surpassing the four each drafted from Ohio State and Minnesota, and the quintet are also the first Penn Staters to be drafted since 2005.
Relief pitcher Drew O??Neil (Roswell, Ga.) was the first Nittany Lion drafted on Friday as he was taken by the Cincinnati Reds with the 15th pick in the eighth round and the 259th pick of the draft overall. The Reds took another Nittany Lion with their pick in the 12th round, selected shortstop/pitcher Scott Gaffney (Westbury, N.Y.) with the 379th overall pick. Just two rounds and 55 picks later, Craig Clark (Phoenixville, Pa.) was taken by the San Francisco Giants with the 10th pick of the 14th round, the 434th overall pick. Then, in the 21st round, the Pittsburgh Pirates took second baseman/shortstop Matt Cavagnaro (Brightwaters, N.Y.) with the fourth pick of the 21st round, the 638th overall pick. To wrap up the day for Penn State, relief pitcher Gary Amato (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) was also selected by the Pirates in the 48th round with the 1,394th overall pick.
The last and only other time that five different Penn State players were drafted in the same year was in 2000 when Shawn Fagan (13th round), Scott Russo (26th round), Chris Netwall (32nd round), Matt Harter (39th round) and Eric Spadt (45th round) were all drafted off a team that made it to the NCAA Super Regionals.
| Scott Gaffney was drafted in the 12th round by the Cincinnati Reds. |
O??Neil became the highest Penn State draft pick since Nate Bump went in the first round in the 1998 draft and the first Nittany Lion since Bump to be picked in the top 10 rounds. The previous highest draft pick from Penn State since Bump in 1998 were a trio of 13th round picks in Shawn Fagan (2000), Chris Netwall (2001) and Rod Perry (2001). Additionally, O??Neil becomes the first Penn State player that was recruited by head coach Robbie Wine to be drafted.
Also notable is the selection of both Cavagnaro and Amato by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cavagnaro, a senior with no eligibility left, will almost certainly begin his professional career with the State College Spikes, who are entering their first year as the short season Class A affiliate of the Pirates and their second year in State College. If Amato, a junior with one more year of eligibility remaining, elects to sign, he may also begin his career with the Spikes, meaning both may begin their professional careers in the same stadium where they ended their college careers, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.
O??Neil, a native of Roswell, Ga. had probably the best season for a relief pitcher in Penn State school history. The draft eligible sophomore broke the school record for saves in a single season, which was previously seven, by recording 11 saves in 12 opportunities while also compiling a 4-2 record. In just one season, he also moved into a tie for second place on the Penn State career saves list, which 15 is the record. He did not allow a single run in Big Ten play this year and allowed just one earned run all year to any Big Ten teams, that coming in the conference tournament. He was unscored upon in 18 of his 23 appearances and did not allow any earned runs in 20 of his 23 appearances. Penn State picked up a win in 19 of his 23 appearances and he had a string in which he retired 23 straight hitters over nearly a month. He had a string of 19.1 consecutive scoreless innings from April 4 through May 25 and threw 22.2 straight innings without allowing an earned run at one point as well. He was named first team All-Big Ten after finishing the season with a 1.34 ERA, tops among Big Ten relievers, in 33.2 innings while striking out 21 and allowing just five earned runs on the season. In Big Ten play, he had a 0.00 ERA in 11 appearances with a 2-0 record and eight saves. He allowed just six hits while striking out 11 in 16.1 innings and held opposing Big Ten hitters to a .113 average.
| Craig Clark was drafted in the 14th round by the San Francisco Giants. |
Gaffney, a native of Westbury, N.Y., has spent the last two years as Penn State??s starting shortstop after playing primarily third base as a freshman. After making 12 relief pitching appearances over his first two seasons, he attracted more attention of scouts this year by converting to a starting pitcher as a junior. He made eight starts for the Nittany Lions this past year and nine pitching appearances, compiling a 3.76 ERA in 40.2 innings while allowing 17 earned runs and striking out 35 with 14 walks. Three of his best performances of the year on the mound came against three of the best opponents that the Nittany Lions faced in North Carolina, Wichita State and Oral Roberts. Against the Tar Heels, he allowed two earned runs while striking out three in a 5.1-inning stint while against Wichita State, he threw 7.1 innings, allowing just four hits and one unearned run while striking out seven. Penn State dropped both games by just one run to a pair of opponents that are playing in the NCAA Super Regionals this weekend. Against Oral Roberts, which also made the NCAA Tournament, he struck out a career-high eight and allowing four runs in seven innings of work. At the plate, Gaffney hit .265 while co-leading the team in home runs with five. He set a new school record for sacrifice hits in a season with 17 and also led the team in stolen bases with 14. In Big Ten play, Gaffney hit .347, which was tops among all Big Ten shortstops in conference play, and also had a .582 slugging percentage.
Clark, a senior and native of Phoenixville, Pa., completed his Penn State career this year ranking in the top five of a few statistical categories and by having the finest season in his career as a Nittany Lion. Clark led the team in ERA at 2.77, which placed him second in the Big Ten. He went 6-4 to lead the team in wins in 14 starts and threw 91 innings, allowing 28 earned runs while striking out 63. He started two of Penn State??s five wins over nationally-ranked teams this year. The southpaw took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in Penn State??s first game at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park against Central Connecticut back on March 23 and finished with an eight-inning, one-hit performance. He threw a complete-game one-hit shutout against Northwestern on April 21 and was a two-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Week in addition to being named first team All-Big Ten. Clark finished his Penn State career tied for fourth with 41 career starts, fifth in strikeouts with 230, and fourth in innings pitched with 273.2.
| Matt Cavagnaro was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 21st round. He now will most likely begin his professional career in the same place he ended his college career, at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park as a member of the State College Spikes. |
Cavagnaro, from Brightwaters, N.Y. completed his finest season as a Nittany Lion this year, hitting .335 while starting all 57 games. He led the team in at-bats (233) and hits (78) and finished second on the team in total bases (96). The 233 at-bats ranks third all-time for a single season. He was also third on the team in slugging percentage (.412) and on-base percentage (.378). In the field, he laid claim to being one of the finest defensive fielders ever to play at Penn State as he compiled a .983 fielding percentage while playing all of his games at either second base or shortstop. He made just five errors in exactly 300 chances. His 183 defensive assists ranks second all-time in school single season history. His 78 hits also ranks third in Penn State single season history. For his career, he finished with 390 assists, which rank him in a tie for eighth in school history. He also finished his career tied for third all-time in career sacrifices with 23. Cavagnaro was also recently named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team after he hit .391 in Penn State??s five games at the conference tournament this year, the Nittany Lions?? first appearance at the conference tournament since 2004.
| Gary Amato was taken in the 48th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates and if he elects to sign may also begin his professional career with the State College Spikes. |
Amato, a junior out of Cocoa Beach, Fla., completed his junior season with a 5.96 ERA in 25.2 innings. He appeared in 15 games, starting two, and struck out 15 in 25.2 innings of work. Amato led the team in wins in the 2006 season with four and bounced back this year from offseason surgery to not miss any time this year. This year, he pitched a pair of scoreless innings against ranked opponents North Carolina and Wichita State and also finished the year strong by allowing just one run over his final three appearances, spanning four innings. He possesses a low to mid-90s fastball.