Petrel Ace Sarisky Drafted by Houston Astros

Oglethorpe University sophomore pitcher Daniel Sarisky was selected by Major League Baseball's Houston Astros in the 40th Round of the 2009 MLB Draft.

Sarisky, a sophomore from Duluth, Georgia, was dominant on the mound this season for Oglethorpe. In 15 appearances, Sarisky compiled a 5-1 record with a sparkling 2.68 ERA. Additionally, Sarisky struck out a ridiculous 65 batters in only 40.1 innings while walking only 14 opponents. Sarisky was named as an All-SCAC First Team pitcher and an American Baseball Coaches Association award winner for his stellar work on the mound this season.
 
Sarisky is just the sixth player in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference history (founded in 1991) to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft. Previous selections from the SCAC are Millsaps' Peter Austin (1997, 40th round by Pittsburgh), Trinity's Jason Armstrong (2004, 20th round by Toronto), Millsaps' Garner Wetzel (2005, 10th round by Colorado), Trinity's Nick Vera (2007, 32nd round by St. Louis) and Trinity's Evan Bronson (2008, 36th round by Milwaukee). After returning to their respective schools, Wetzel was drafted again by San Diego in the 2006 18th round and Bronson was re-drafted by Washington in the 2009 29th round.
 
If he signs with Houston, Sarisky, a sophomore eligibility-wise, will be trying to become the tenth former Petrel baseball player to play for a Major League Baseball team. The most famous Petrel to play ball at the highest level was another sophomore who left the campus early to pursue a big league career, Hall of Famer Luke Appling. Appling was signed by the Atlanta Crackers in 1930 and went on to play twenty big league seasons for the Chicago White Sox, compiling a career .310 batting average. Appling was inducted to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.
 
The other former Petrels to play Major League Baseball with their last year on campus in parentheses are Al Wingo (1918), Lucas Turk (1921), Ron Carlyle (1921), Dave Barbee (1926), Jay Partridge (1925), Greek George (1933), Harry Dean (1941) and Phil McCullough (1938).