Junior right-hander taken 447th overall

MLB.com Draft Central
San Francisco Giants Draft Coverage: Day Two

RINDGE, N.H. (June 10, 2009) – Junior right-hander Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) of the Franklin Pierce University baseball team has been selected in the 15th round (447 overall) of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the San Francisco Giants.

The selection is the 16th in program history for Franklin Pierce and head coach Jayson King, all since 2001. The 16 picks rank third among New England institutions in that time frame as the Ravens trail only Boston College (28 selections) and Connecticut (20). This is the first time the Giants have selected a Franklin Pierce player in the draft. Franklin Pierce has had at least one player taken in the draft every year since 2001.

“Kyle did a great job developing the talent that he had once he arrived at Franklin Pierce,” said King. “I know that he is going to continue the success he has had at Pierce with the San Francisco Giants.”

“He has the make-up and the stuff to develop nicely in their system,” added King. “The year that he put together for us this past year was incredible.”

Vazquez served as the Franklin Pierce ace all season long, to the tune of an 8-1 record and a 1.93 earned-run average, which was good for third in the conference and 11th in the nation. He also finished sixth in the nation in strikeouts (112) and 12th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.8).

In addition to earned-run average, Vazquez also finished among Northeast-10 leaders in four significant pitching categories, as he finished first in innings pitched (93.1) and strike outs, placed third in wins and ranked fifth in opposing batting average (.217). Vazquez threw three shutouts on the season, including a 10-inning, three-hit shutout with a career-high 15 strikeouts against Massachusetts Lowell on May 2 to clinch the Northeast-10 regular season title.

Vazquez was named Northeast-10 Conference Pitcher of the Year earlier this spring and received All-America honors from Daktronics (Second Team), Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association (Third Team) and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (Third Team).

It was a busy awards season for the right-hander, who also garnered Daktronics All-East Region First Team, ABCA All-East Region First Team, NCBWA All-East Region First Team, Eastern College Athletic Conference Division II Baseball All-Star First Team, New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association All-Star Team and All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team accolades this spring.

“It’s definitely exciting,” said Vazquez of getting drafted. “But, I couldn’t have done it without Coach King and the rest of the coaches at Franklin Pierce, so I thank them for giving me the opportunity to play with one of New England’s great baseball programs.”

Also on Wednesday, Franklin Pierce fall 2009 signee Daniel Kemp, out of Sturbridge, Mass. and Tantasqua Regional High School, was drafted in the 24th round (738 overall) by the Boston Red Sox.

Wednesday was the second day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, which concludes on Thursday with rounds 31 through 50.

The Ravens (37-18) captured their third Northeast-10 Conference regular season title in four years earlier this spring and followed that with their third consecutive Northeast-10 Championship title, which was the program’s fourth in five years. Franklin Pierce earned the second seed in the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship East Regional and hosted an NCAA regional for the fifth consecutive season.