Classical’s Jeremy Pena One of Five Area Players Chosen in the MLB Draft
Ken Bell
Classical High School shortstop Jeremy Pena was chosen by the Atlanta Braves in the 39th round of the MLB draft. He was the 1170th player picked. Jeremy is the son of former major league player Geronimo Pena. He now must weigh whether he will go pro or accept the full scholarship to play for the Maine Black Bears.
RIC news release…
Providence, R.I.-Rhode Island College junior catcher Matt Foley (Seekonk, MA) was selected in the 40th Round (1,196 overall) by the Miami Marlins in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft.
He was named a First Team All-American by both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings and D3Baseball.com this past season. Foley was named First Team All-New England by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA), D3Baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings. He was a First Team All-Little East and team MVP selection as well. Foley won the triple crown for the Little East, leading the league in batting average (.453), RBI (45) and home runs (11). He played in 34 games, starting all of them. He batted .453 (53-for-117), with 43 runs scored, 53 hits, 10 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and 45 RBI. He registered a .872 slugging percentage, a .515 on-base percentage and a .988 fielding percentage.
Foley is currently playing for the Nashua Silver Knights in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) this summer.
Head Coach Scott Virgulak’s Anchormen finished the season with a 21-13 record overall and a 9-5 mark (second place tie) in the Little East.
URI news release…KINGSTON, R.I. – Rhode Island right handed pitcher Lou Distasio was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 32nd round of the 2015 MLB Draft. The Yarmouth, Maine native was the 957th overall pick, becoming URI’s 14th player drafted since 2003.
Identified as one of the Atlantic 10’s top prospects as well as one of the top prospects from New England, Distasio has been a two-year member of Rhode Island’s weekend rotation and tied for the team lead with six wins this year. He recorded a season-high nine strikeouts in URI’s 6-3 upset over 11th-ranked North Carolina, en route to earning A-10 Pitcher of the Week honors on March 2.
Distasio made his final appearance of the season out of the bullpen, in the finals of the Atlantic 10 Championship. On just two days rest, following a seven-inning start in the tournament opener, he tossed 3.1 innings of relief – with zero walks and no earned runs – in a win-or-go-home game against VCU.
In three seasons with the Rams, Distasio has recorded 146 strikeouts opposite just 57 walks while averaging 7.6 K’s per nine innings pitched. He boasts a career opposing average of .246.
Prior to joining the Rams, Distasio was a three-sport high school athlete at Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine, starring on the baseball, basketball and football teams. He is the second Ram drafted by the Padres in recent years as San Diego selected Nick Greenwood in the 14th round of the 2009 Draft. Greenwood was later traded to the St. Louis Cardinals and went on to make his MLB debut in the summer of 2014.
Bryant news release…
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University baseball senior Trevor Lacosse (Watervliet, N.Y.) became the ninth player in the last three years to be drafted as he was taken in the 23rd round, 686th overall, by the Miami Marlins on day three of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
Lacosse joins teammate Kyle Wilcox (Sandy Hook, Conn.) as the only two Bulldogs to be drafted this season. The two pitchers were both part of a 2013 pitching staff that has now had six drafted from it. That staff led the Black and Gold to 45 victories, its first NCAA tournament win and a team ERA of 2.73.
One of the best relievers in program history, Lacosse made the move to the starting rotation this spring, going 2-3 with a 4.33 ERA in 15 appearances and nine starts. He allowed 61 hits and struck out 53 batters over 62.1 innings. Lacosse saved his best performance for last, throwing 8.1 gutsy innings in a victory over Sacred Heart to force the “if necessary” game in the NEC tournament.
Lacosse finishes his career as the Division I leader in appearances with 89 and a career ERA of 3.16. He went 9-8 with 10 saves and struck out 146 batters over 171 innings. Prior to this season, Lacosse had made at least 22 appearances in each of his first three years. During Bryant’s magical season in 2013, Lacosse was 3-0 with a 2.06 ERA in 29 appearances.
