Savastano to Return to Franklin Pierce for Junior Season
August 15 deadline passes without contract for Cleveland Indians 28th round selection
RINDGE, N.H. (August 20, 2007) - Franklin Pierce University standout infielder Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) will now officially return for his junior season after going unsigned by the Cleveland Indians before the Major League Baseball deadline.
The Indians, who selected Savastano in the 28th round (857 overall) in June's First Year Player Draft, had until midnight on August 15 to sign the Ravens infielder to a contract but failed to do so. Savastano, who projects as a top five round pick by Baseball America in 2008, suffered a hand injury in Franklin Pierce's season-opening 16-3 victory at No. 17 West Chester University that forced him to miss 41 of the Ravens 60 games in 2007.
Savastano, a 33rd round pick of the Chicago White Sox out of high school in 2005, was 2006 Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year after leading the Ravens with a .397 batting average his freshman year. He hit .357 (25-70) this past spring with 11 runs scored, three doubles, a triple, home run and 14 RBI in just 19 games played and earned All-Tournament team honors at the Northeast Regional for the second-straight season.
Savastano was recently named the New England Collegiate Baseball League's (NECBL) Most Improved Player after a strong summer with the Pittsfield Dukes. He led the Dukes with a .348 (32-for-92) batting average in 24 games, adding 12 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, home run, three stolen bases and 17 RBI after joining the squad in midseason. Savastano was named NECBL Player of the Week on August 15.
Franklin Pierce head coach Jayson King has seen 14 Ravens selected in the MLB Draft since 2001, a total topped only by Boston College (20) in New England collegiate circles in that time. The Ravens three picks in June are the second-highest single-season total in program history behind their five in 2006. 20 Ravens in all have gone on to enjoy professional careers since 2001.
Franklin Pierce (49-11, 26-4 NE-10), which posted a Northeast Region record for wins, recently completed its second-straight run (and third in five years) to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships in Montgomery, Ala., after capturing both the Northeast-10 regular season and tournament crowns for the first time in program history. The Ravens were ranked 10th in the final Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II poll.