Four #HLBB Players Selected in MLB Draft

Four Horizon League baseball players were drafted this past weekend in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft.

Karch Kowalczyk of Valparaiso (Los Angeles Dodgers), Tomas Michelson of UIC (Tampa Bay Rays) and Jake Morton (Cleveland Indians) and Jake Paulson (Cincinnati Reds) of Oakland were all selected.Kowalczyk polished off a dominant career for the Brown and Gold this past spring. The right-hander collected 11 saves and compiled a 1.59 ERA along with a 0.97 WHIP in 2014. He closed out the season having been scored upon just once in his final 17 appearances.

For his career, Kowalczyk amassed 24 saves – the second-most ever by a Crusader – and tallied a 1.74 lifetime earned run average. He was rewarded with the 2013 Horizon League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award after turning in an outstanding regular season highlighted by 12 saves and a miniscule 0.36 earned run average.

Kowalczyk graduated from Valparaiso last month with a double major in biology and chemistry.

Paulson posted a team-best 3.68 ERA in 66.0 innings this season. He finished with a team-high four victories with 45 strikeouts in 12 starts. Paulson was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on March 3 after tossing 7.0 innings, allowing just one earned run with five strikeouts. He also earned the second win over a ranked opponent in school history allowing just two runs in 6.1 innings with eight fanned batters at No. 18 Oklahoma State on Feb. 22.

The 6-foot-6, redshirt junior is 8-16 all-time with a 4.11 ERA in 44 appearances, including 28 starts. Last season he became a weekend starter for the Golden Grizzlies posting a 5.33 ERA in 13 starts in 74.1 innings.

Morton, primarily a catcher at Oakland, was selected by the Indians as a right-handed pitcher. The native of Jenison, Mich. hit .239 on the season but raised his average to .296 with a .441 on-base percentage. He drove in 14 runs and scored 10 times in 2014 while making 35 starts in the field. He was named College Sports Madness Horizon Baseball Player of the Week on April 16 after going 9-for-13 with 4 RBIs including a perfect 4-for-4 effort against UIC.

Michelson just finished his junior season with the Flames and owns a 13-13 career mound record.  This past year, Michelson ranked second in the Horizon League with 93.1 innings pitched and third with 61 strikeouts.  Michelson was named first team All-Conference in 2013 after he posted 65 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.08.

One of Michelson’s top moments at UIC happened on Feb. 20, 2013, when he tossed 7.1 shutout innings against then-No. 24 Texas A&M.  The six-foot four-inch hurler was credited with the win as UIC claimed a 2-0 victory.  Michelson ended the day with five strikeouts and allowed just four hits.  CollegeBaseball360.com later selected him as the National Primetime Player of the Week.

Horizon League Players Drafted
27-815 Jake Paulson, Oakland (Cincinnati Reds)
29-877 Tomas Michelson, UIC (Tampa Bay Rays)
37-1119 Karch Kowalczyk, Valparaiso (Los Angeles Dodgers)
39-1178 Jake Morton, Oakland (Cleveland Indians)