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BLACKSBURG, Va. – On the third day of the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday afternoon, two more Virginia Tech players were selected bringing the Hokie total to three.
Rising r-junior Andrew Rash became the second Hokie to be chosen with the 1,103rd pick, chosen by the San Diego Padres with the 22nd selection of the 36th round. Of the more than 70 times Hokies have been selected in the draft, Rash becomes the first Virginia Tech player to be chosen by the Padres organization.
Rising senior Ronnie Shaban was the final Hokie taken in the 2011 draft, taken with the 1,475th pick, chosen by the Baltimore Orioles with the 4th selection of the 49th round.
After redshirting as a freshman and seeing limited playing time through most of his first playing season, Rash started in 51 games this season and made the most of it.
Rash led the Hokies in batting (.335), home runs (18), RBI (53), total bases (135), slugging percentage (.707) and on-base percentage (.416) and was tied for the team lead in hit by pitch (10). He was second on the team in runs scored (49) and tied for second in doubles (17).
Among the conference players at the end of the regular season, Rash led all ACC players in home runs (by seven), total bases (by 12) and slugging percentage (by .102). He was also tied for fourth in RBI, tied for seventh in doubles, tied for 11th in runs and was 13th in batting. He became just the second Hokie to earn All-ACC First Team honors.
The Orioles selected Shaban, who mainly played first base for Tech this season, as a pitcher. The right-hander’s numbers on the mound this season included 19.1 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts. He earned three saves for the Hokies in 17 appearances. In his career, he has thrown 32.1 innings, has 29 strikeouts and combined on one shutout in 30 games.
At the plate, the left-handed hitter pounded out 64 hits, 17 doubles, four triples and five home runs. He had 104 total bases, drove in 52 RBI and scored 31 runs. In his career, he has a .322 batting average with 203 career hits, 56 doubles, eight triples, 17 home runs, 157 RBI and 326 total bases.
He became just the sixth junior at the school to reach 200 career hits, while his 56 doubles are tied for fourth in a career at the school. If he returns to Blacksburg, he has the chance to finish in the top five in career at-bats, hits, triples, total bases and RBI.
Former teammate Tim Smalling was a 15th round selection yesterday by the Colorado Rockies and marks the third consecutive year the Hokies have had at least two players chosen in the MLB draft.
For updates on Virginia Tech baseball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_Baseball).
