Three America East baseball players -- Binghamton's Murphy Smith and Vermont's Joe Serafin and Justin Milo-- were picked up by Major League ball clubs during this week's amateur draft which concluded Thursday afternoon.
Smith, a junior right-handed pitcher, was the first to go in the 13th round to the Oakland Athletics. The 6-3, 210-lb hurler, the 393rd overall pick, is a native of Clifton Park, N.Y. Smith
was the America East Pitcher of the Year in 2009 after leading
the league in wins (7), strikeouts (84) and ERA (3.12). He went
7-3 and had 84 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 89.1 innings.
His strikeout total was the second-most in program history and
he tied the season high for wins. Smith ranked 27th in the country
in fewest walks allowed per game (1.41) and was 59th in ERA.
In three collegiate seasons, Smith has 13 wins and a 3.89 career
ERA in 44 appearances. The junior was also tabbed the ECAC Pitcher of the Year and First-Team ECAC All-Star earlier this week
Serafin, a 5-10, 190-lb senior lefty, was the 2008 America East Pitcher of the Year. The 37th-round pick for the Chicago White Sox is the Catamounts' all-time leader in victories and
strikeouts. A three-time all-conference
selection, Serafin was the most valuable pitcher in the 2008 New England College
All-Star Game at Fenway Park. He had a 4-7 record this spring and ranked among
the America East leaders in strikeouts (62) and complete games (5) as UVM
(23-33, 14-10 America East) tied for third in the America East standings and
reached the conference tournament for the fourth time in five seasons.
Two picks later, the Yankees snagged Milo, also in the 37th round. A 5-8 175-lb junior, Milo played his freshman year at Cornell before
transferring to Vermont in 2008. He was a first team All-Ivy pick in 2007 and a
second-team America East All-Conference selection the past two seasons. This past spring he hit .350 with six homers and 39 RBI
in 33 games. He is UVM's all-time leader in slugging percentage (.592) and
ranks 13th in batting average (.337). This summer he is a member of the
Manchester (Conn.) Silkworms of the New England Collegiate Baseball
League.