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Five Cougars Go Pro
It was no surprise that the final game of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville baseball season in Montgomery, Alabama would not be the final game in the careers of several Cougars. After an SIUE record 68 games, including 41 wins, a Great Lakes Valley Conference South Division championship, a North Central Region Championship and a trip to the NCAA Division II Championship Series, five Cougars were called upon to continue their baseball careers in the professional ranks. Dave Crouthers (Edwardsville) was drafted on June 5 and Josh Clark (Olalla, Wash.) and Matt Wilkinson (Melbourne, Australia) were drafted on June 6 of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The Frontier League's Gateway Grizzlies quickly signed Mark Bugger (Edwardsville) and Bret Giaudrone (Gillespie). The Baltimore Orioles took Crouthers with the seventh pick in the third round (83rd overall), making him the highest draft pick in SIUE history. Crouthers was used as a pitcher and an outfielder by the Cougars and broke the SIUE single season records for innings pitched (112.3), pitching strikeouts (110) and RBI (81). For his efforts he was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year. Scouts trailed Crouthers all season and were especially attracted to his fastball, which was recorded as high as 96 miles per hour. Crouthers started on the mound in the Cougars' first game of the NCAA-II Championship Series and picked up his tenth win of the season in a stellar performance. He finished with a 10-6 record, 112.3 innings pitched, 89 hits, 118 strikeouts and 53 walks. Opponents batted .215 against him and he had a 3.12 ERA. Clark and Wilkinson may remain teammates after both were chosen by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Clark was Arizona's 14th pick and Wilkinson was Arizona's 45th pick. Clark lead the Cougars with four complete games and was second with 102.7 innings pitched. He had an ERA of 4.12 and an opponents' batting average of .235. Wilkinson won his first nine decisions of the year and had a 9-2 record. He struck out 70 and walked 32 with an ERA of 3.94. Bugger and Giaudrone have already gotten off to fast starts as teammates with the Gateway Grizzlies, which play their home games in nearby Sauget. Bugger, the all-time NCAA-II hits leader, quickly worked his way up the Grizzlies lineup and is their everyday second baseman. At SIUE he holds the career record for hits (356), at bats (903), runs (204), RBI (216), and doubles (57). He also had a .394 career batting average. Giaudrone started the first home game of the franchise for the Grizzlies and pitched seven shutout innings before leaving with a 3-0 lead. He did not get a decision as Bugger scored the winning run against the Evansville Otters in the bottom of the 10th inning. Giaudrone set SIUE records with 14 saves and 41 appearances. He also paced the Cougars with a 1.81 ERA. In the final game of the NCAA-II Championship Series Giaudrone pitched eight and two-thirds innings of relief and struck out 16 against eventual runner-up Central Missouri State. |