Two
Ravens Taken on Junior shortstop Shawn Hayes (Charlton, Mass./Holy Name) was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the fifth round (142 overall), while red shirt sophomore relief pitcher Matt Fisher (Athol, Mass./Athol) was taken by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 15th round (448 overall). It marks the first time in program history two players have been drafted in the same season and the fifth-straight year the program has had a player picked.
Hayes,
whose selection in the fifth round marks the highest draft pick in
program history, is a two-time All-Northeast-10 Conference selection
for the Ravens earning first team honors this spring as well as second
team All-Northeast Region honors by both the American Baseball Coaches
Association (ABCA) and National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America
(NCBWA).
“I was kind of stunned when I heard the announcement,” said
Hayes. “I was completely surprised when I heard Kansas City, I was
expecting a couple of other teams, but they came completely out of
right field.”
Hayes led the Ravens with a .395 (60-152) batting average (2nd
NE-10) this spring, scoring 42 runs (3rd) to go with 15
doubles (2nd), four triples (3rd), seven home
runs (5th), 37 RBI (6th) and 16 steals (5th).
The 6-foot, 4-inch, 220-pounder also posted a .684 slugging percentage
(1st NE-10) and .444 on-base percentage (2nd)
this season. His totals from this season placed him among
single-season leaders at the College in batting average (6th),
runs scored (10th), doubles (7th), triples (5th),
slugging (5th) and steals (6th). Hayes’ 36
career steals are good for fourth all-time. “To be the highest pick in program history is truly a compliment to me personally,” said Hayes. “It’s quite an honor considering the talent that has come out of the program.”
Fisher,
a right-handed pitcher, earned second team All-Northeast Region and
All-Conference honors this spring as a reliever as he broke his own
single-season program record with five saves (4th NE-10) to
go with a 3-1 record, 1.99 ERA, 22 strikeouts and 13 walks in 31.2
innings over a program record 17 appearances (4th) this
spring. He limited opposing batters to a .220 batting average against
him.
Fisher, who boasts a fastball consistently in the 90’s, also
holds the school’s career record with eight saves in two seasons. He
pitched a career-high 5.1 innings in an elimination game against UMass
Lowell at the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional and earned the win,
striking out four with a walk. The three earned runs he yielded all
came in his last inning of work.
“(The Devil Rays) had called me the round prior, so I knew it
was coming,” said Fisher of the moment he was selected. “There
were about 15 of us huddled around the computer and every emotion you
could have ran through us all. I still don’t know what to think.”
“I’m just happy for the guys and happy for the program,”
said Franklin Pierce head coach Jayson
King.
“It’s just a really good day for everyone involved today.”
Franklin Pierce (32-14, 21-9 NE-10) claimed its first
Northeast-10 Conference Tournament championship this past spring,
earning its second NCAA Tournament berth in three years. The Ravens
hosted the NCAA Northeast Regional for the first time in program
history and advanced to the regional title game before falling to
Southern Connecticut State University. Franklin Pierce has matched the
program record for wins three-straight years and the season ranked No.
29 in Collegiate Baseball magazine’s Division II ranking and
No. 24 in the NCBWA poll. |
