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Baseball: Former SWR, Riverhead pitchers drafted in MLB

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Mike O’Reilly, a 2012 Shoreham-Wading River graduate, was drafted in the 27th Round of the Major League Baseball Draft Saturday by the St. Louis Cardinals. He was followed shortly afterward by former Riverhead pitcher Matt Crohan, who was taken in the 32nd Round by the Cincinnati Reds.

O’Reilly recently completed his senior season at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla. He was the 826th pick.

A right-handed pitcher, O’Reilly posted a 4.07 ERA this past season and went 6-3 while throwing a team high 90 2/3 innings. He struck out 99, also a team high.

A Wading River native, O’Reilly was the Peach Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year as a junior after posting a 2.89 ERA and 7-3 record.

Crohan, a left-handed pitcher, entered the year at Winthrop University as a top pitching prospect for this year’s draft. But his season was derailed after three games with an injury to his pitching arm.

As a sophomore in 2015, Crohan posted a 3.05 ERA and went 7-4 with 87 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings.

The 6-foot-4 Jamesport native had been voted the Big South Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year at start of his junior year this spring. He was considered the top pro pitching prospect in the conference, according to Winthrop. He was taken 948th overall by the Reds.

O’Reilly and Crohan share a common bond as consecutive winners of the Carl Yastrzemski Award as the top player in Suffolk County. Both won as seniors, O’Reilly in 2012 and Crohan in 2013.

In high school O’Reilly put together one of the greatest individual seasons in program history as a senior. He became the first Yastrzemski Award winner for Shoreham since former major leaguer Keith Osik.

He was an equally dynamic offensive player as pitcher in high school. As a senior, in helping the Wildcats to a second straight county title, he batted .467 with 4 home runs, 23 RBIs and 17 doubles. He went 8-3 on the mound as a senior with a 1.24 ERA while striking out 141 batters in 84 2/3 innings.

He finished his high school career with a 17-3 record.

In the 2012 Long Island championship game he struck out 19 Plainedge batters in a losing effort.

Crohan’s 2013 senior season was equally as impressive. He threw 44 consecutive scoreless innings, a pair of no-hitters and struck out 104 batters in 47 innings, a school record. Opponents batted .060 against him for the season.

He was the first Blue Waves player to ever win the Yastrzemski.

Following the draft, the next step for O’Reilly would be to sign a minor league contract and the Cardinals, who would then assign him to their rookie league. The Cardinals’ rookie team, Johnson City, opens its season June 23. The team plays in Johnson City, Tenn.

With one more season of eligibility in college, Crohan could decide to stay at Winthrop and enter the draft again next year.

Photo Credit: Flagler Athletics/Winthrop Athletics

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