BASEBALL HAS TWO PLAYERS PICKED IN 2002 MLB DRAFT
6/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 5, 2002
BASEBALL HAS TWO PLAYERS PICKED IN 2002 MLB DRAFT
Justin Gabriel and Chase Lambin snagged on day two
LAFAYETTE– Two members of the 2002Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns baseball team were selected during the second day of Major League Baseball's amateur draft on Wednesday.
Seniors Justin Gabriel and Chase Lambin were both taken today after no Cajuns players were picked on the league's first day of drafting.
Seattlenative Gabriel was picked up by the National League's Milwaukee Brewers in the 30th round. Lambin, aHoustonnative, was nabbed by the NL East's New York Mets in the 34th round.
Gabriel, who came to UL Lafayette fromLassenJunior College, finished up a brilliant two-season stint with the Ragin' Cajuns last weekend at the NCAA Regional inBaton Rouge. He finished the season 10-4 with a 2.87 ERA, striking out 111 and walking just 53 in 131 2/3 innings of work.
Gabriel was one of two Cajuns' pitchers with College World Series experience this season, having started the first-ever CWS appearance in school history against Stanford,June 9, 2000.
Earlier this season, he hurled his first career shutout at Middle Tennessee, April 26. Gabriel struck out a career-high 13 in the squad's home opener againstCentral FloridaFeb. 16. He finished his Cajuns career with an overall record of 19-8 with 218 strikeouts compared to only 93 walks.
Lambin, a transfer from theUniversityofTexas, led all Louisiana-Lafayette hitters in home runs this season with 13, the first double-digit total since Danny Massiatte's 15 in 2000. Lambin was one of three Cajuns' hitters with a .300 or better batting average and ranked second on the team in hits with 67.
During the season, Lambin became just the fifth player in school history to hit three home runs in a game, since Papo RamosApril 8, 1992, when he did so May 11 at nationally rankedSouth Alabamaand set the school record for total bases with 14. Lambin led the Cajuns with 123 total bases
He also had home runs off ofHouston's Brad Sullivan andWestern Kentucky's Ryan Bicondoa, two of the best pitchers in the country.
With the selection of both Gabriel and Lambin, UL Lafayette has had at least one player drafted each year since head coach
Tony Robichaux took over the program in 1995.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
