Rider's Hoey Drafted by Orioles
Junior Pitcher went in 13th Round
LAWRENCEVILLE--James Hoey of Hamilton, a junior pitcher on the Rider University baseball team, was selected in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft Tuesday. This is the third time in the last four years that a Rider pitcher was drafted in the top 15 rounds.
A 6'6", 200 pound right-handed pitcher with a 90 mph fastball, Hoey was the 374th player selected Tuesday.
If Hoey signs with the Orioles, he will be the 37th player in the last 33 years under Rider head coach Sonny Pittaro to sign a professional baseball contract, and the eighth player in the last seven years.
A first-team All-New Jersey selection, Hoey won his final five decisions and finished 6-4 with a 2.24 earned run average.
Hoey earned six of Rider's 14 MAAC wins this year, while his losses were to Georgia Tech and Florida International, a pair of NCAA Tournament teams, and to the top two teams in the MAAC, champion LeMoyne and runner-up Marist.
Hoey compiled 63 strikeouts and 44 walks in 88 innings pitched this season, starting 11 games. In his three seasons at Rider Hoey won 12 games and saved 10.
Hoey is a 2000 graduate of Hamilton West High School, where he was an All-State selection and the New Jersey Pitcher of the Year.
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