Two Former Sheboygan A’s Get Drafted
Posted: June 9, 2011
Right-handed pitcher Tyler Jones from Louisiana State University was taken on day 2 of the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Jones was the 11th-round pick, 358th overall of the Minnesota Twins.
Jones, who transferred to LSU in August from Madison (Wisc.) Area Tech, received National Player of the Week recognition from Collegiate Baseball newspaper after firing a three-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts on May 17 at the University of New Orleans.
Jones, a 21st-round selection of the Chicago White Sox in the 2010 draft, completed this season with a 4-0 record and a 5.22 ERA in 39.2 innings (14 appearances, six starts), recording 23 walks and 37 strikeouts.
Jones pitched for the Sheboygan A’s in 2009.
Senior Chad Pierce of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team has been selected in the 38th round of the Major League Baseball Draft today by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Pierce, who was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Year in 2011, becomes the first Panther to be chosen in the MLB Draft since 2006.
“It’s a dream come true,” Pierce said. “Ever since I was a little kid, it’s been a dream to play professionally. This is just one step, but, you get the chance. This whole year I talked with Coach Doffek and Coach Bigler on how I wanted a chance. It’s a great honor that they are giving me the opportunity to keep playing baseball. It’s awesome that it was the Brewers. You grow up watching them on TV and then get drafted by the team you love and root for every day – that makes it even sweeter.”
Pierce, the league newcomer of the year in 2010, put together impressive totals that all ranked among the league leaders. He finished 6-4 with a 3.21 ERA, striking out 82 batters in 101.0 innings of work while allowing opponents to bat just .236 on the year. He ranked third in the league in ERA, victories, strikeouts and innings pitched. In league play he was unbeatable, posting a 5-0 mark in eight starts, which included a pair of nine-inning no-decisions. Against league foes, he struck out 49 batters in 60.1 innings, giving up just 50 hits with an ERA of 2.39.
“This is certainly well-deserved for Chad,” UWM head coach Scott Doffek said. “He has been a hard worker since the day he got here and is the ultimate teammate. I could not be happier for him. I think Chad will be successful at whatever he does. Since this is his next endeavor, I am sure that he will put everything he has in to it and will no doubt find a way to impress the organization.”
Pierce becomes the 16th different UWM player to be drafted in the history of the program. The last, Mike Goetz, was tabbed in the 25th round of the 2006 draft, also by the Brewers.
“I started getting recruited my junior year in high school and you kind of start thinking that maybe this could happen,” Pierce, a native of Fond du Lac, Wis., said. “My first four years of college, it never worked out. And this year, it was up in the air. Being a fifth-year guy, I knew it would be in the late rounds if I did get drafted. It’s one of the best days of my life right now – just to have that opportunity to continue to play baseball.”
Pierce was both a pitcher and catcher for the Sheboygan A’s in 2007.
Information from LSUsports.net and UWMPanthers.cstv.com
Jones photo by: Steve Franz, LSU Athletics Staff Photographer
The Sheboygan A's are members of the Wisconsin State League and Northeastern Wisconsin Baseball League. The A's have helped develop more than 43 players that have reached professional baseball, including 2002 World Series Champion Jarrod Washburn (Anaheim Angels). All Sheboygan A's home games are played at Wildwood Baseball Park in Sheboygan. Connect with the A's on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
