Over The Pylon

The big news of the last couple days was the times and television for the football Cardinals for the fall. That was until the Cardinals had three players selected in this week’s MLB draft. T.J. Weir, Sean Godfrey and Nestor Bautista all heard their names called Saturday in the 17th, 22nd, and 32nd rounds respectively. Weir was selected by the San Diego Padres, Godrey by the Atlanta Braves, and Bautista by the Florida Marlins. With their drafting, BSU has now landed 55 players in the MLB draft. Per BSU’s release notes…

A senior pitcher, infielder and designated hitter, Weir ranks ninth in the nation with 117 strikeouts and 15th nationally with 16 games started on the mound. He finished second in the Mid-American Conference in strikeouts and tied for third in pitching victories (8), while ranking tied for third in games started and fourth with 99.2 innings pitched. Weir struck out a career-high 14 batters versus Western Michigan April 19, which was the highest single-game total by a MAC pitcher this season. He struck out at least eight batters in seven outings this year plus hit three home runs, with five doubles, two triples and 17 RBI in his 109 at-bats. Weir completed the season with an 8-2 pitching record and a 3.61 earned-run average.

Godfrey, who was named to the Louisville Slugger Collegiate Baseball All-America Third Team, was named the 2014 MAC Player of the Year. He batted .333 in 237 at-bats for the Cardinals in 2014 with nine home runs, 22 doubles and 57 runs-batted-in. Godfrey ranks nationally in doubles (9th), runs-batted-in (17th), total bases (30th with 128) and hits (45th with 79). Godfrey became the 15th player in Ball State history honored by an All-America team and the eighth to earn third-team honors.

Bautista was 3-1 in 18 appearances for the Cardinals in 2014 and tallied a 3.55 ERA. He pitched 25.1 innings, allowing 10 earned runs and striking out 25 batters. Opponents batted a mere .233 against Bautista, which was the best mark on the Ball State pitching staff.

“What a great day for Ball State baseball,” Cardinals’ head coach Rich Maloney said.  “It is exciting to see these players realize their dream of playing professional baseball.  To become a national program players getting to play at the next level is a prerequisite.  Each of these student-athletes earned their degrees, which makes me very proud.  They exemplified the true meaning of student-athlete.”

Congrats and Go Cards!

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