Gagnier Selected By Oakland In 14th Round
SECAUCUS, N.J. ? Closer Drew Gagnier became the second product from the University of Oregon baseball program to be drafted on Wednesday when he was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 14th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Gagnier, the 423rd overall selection, appeared in 23 games for the Ducks and was named Pac-10 Honorable Mention after ending the year with seven saves, a mark that tied for sixth in the Pac-10.
The Santa Cruz, Calif., native ended 2009 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1-0 record, pitching a total of 30 innings and finishing 19 games, a mark that ranked fourth in the Pac-10.
He earned his first save of the season tossing the final inning of Oregon’s historic 5-3 season-opening victory at Saint Mary’s on Feb. 20. The 6-foot-4 right-hander also earned saves by tossing the final innings and holding opponents scoreless in victories over Nevada, Washington and Sacramento State.
His second historic appearance came on March 28 at PGE Park, as the Ducks defeated Oregon State, 3-2, in a 10-inning thriller in front of a Pac-10 record crowd of 15,540 fans. Gagnier earned his first win of the season after pitching the final two innings of the game and holding the Beavers scoreless while striking out the side in the top of the 10th to set up Oregon’s game winner.
Gagnier helped the Ducks to their first home Pac-10 victory by holding Stanford hitless in 1 and 1/3 innings during a 2-1 victory on April 3. Two weeks later on April 18, he held California scoreless for an inning to earn his sixth save during Oregon’s 5-3 win in Berkeley ? the Ducks’ first Pac-10 victory on the road in 2009.
His seventh and final save of the season came after an inning of work in a 3-2 victory over UCLA on May 1. He made his only start of the year pitching 4 and 2/3 innings, and allowing just one run on two hits while striking out four in Oregon’s season finale against Arizona on May 24.
The Ducks go-to pitcher late in games, Gagnier held opponents to a .217 clip with runners on, while limiting leadoff batters to a .184 average.
Gagnier transferred to Oregon for the 2007-08 academic year and redshirted after spending the 2007 season at Fresno State. He is a 2006 graduate of Santa Cruz High School in California.
Earlier today, Oregon junior right-hander Erik Stavert was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round of the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
