Aug. 15, 2001

Los Angeles, Calif. (August 15, 2001)-- The pipeline to Major League Baseball has been running well during the past five seasons under Head Coach Frank Cruz. With eight players signing a professional contract the last two seasons, it has allowed many players to move up in professional baseball's farm system.

Following the 2001 campaign, junior C.J. Wilson was drafted by the Texas Rangers organization and later signed. Senior James Clelland was offered a contract with the Montreal Expos organization as a free agent. The two signees give the Lions 14 players in the past five seasons who have gone pro.

Wilson, whose first assignment was with the Pulaski Rangers in the rookie league, was impressive in his first several outings and was called up to Class A's Savannah Sand Gnats. Wilson, who finished the 2001 season 3-9 with a 6.95 ERA, is currently 0-2 with a 2.57 ERA in the South Atlantic League. He has allowed only four earned runs in 14 innings.

Clelland, who tied for the team lead with five wins on the mound for the Lions in 2001 and finished with a career best 5-2 record, has also been impressive with the Vermont Expos in the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League. He is 2-1 on the season with a 1.88 ERA (a team best among pitchers with 20 or more innings). In 24 innings he has a 7-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio, striking out 15 and walking just two.

Wilson and Clelland join five other Lions moving up the ranks this season. Billy Traber, who was the 16th overall pick by the New York Mets in 2000, has met the call of being a high draft pick, quickly moving up to the Binghamton Mets of the Eastern League in Class AA. Traber started the season in Class A but has since moved to AA with a 2-2 record and a 4.21 ERA. He has 27 strikeouts with the Mets, walking eight.

The Lions also have some offense in the pros. Six players were signed to a professional contract following the 2000 season, including Traber. Among them were West Coast Conference Player of the Year Anthony Angel, who was drafted by the Houston Astros. Angel is currently with the Michigan Battle Cats in the Advanced Class A Midwest League. He is hitting .242 on the season, getting 47 hits in 194 at bats. One of LMU's all-time RBI leaders with 165 in his career (7th overall), Angel has 22 RBI while hitting five home runs and 12 doubles.

Also from the 2000 team was catcher Scott Walter, who is currently with the Wilmington Blue Rocks from the Kansas City Royals organization, and Jason Aspito, who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and is currently with the Class A Winston-Salem Warthogs. Drafted by the Royals, Walter is hitting .232 on the season (41-for-177) with 26 RBI, which is ranked second on the team. He has added nine doubles and five home runs. Aspito, who led the Lions with a .360 batting average in 2000, is hitting .242 on the season (80-for-330) for the Warthogs. He has added 22 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 28 RBI.

Finally, third baseman Curt Fiore, who was drafted in 1999, is a member of the Atlanta Braves organization. He is with the Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League. Fiore is second on the team with a .286 batting average (80-for-280), while leading the team with 37 RBI. He has added six home runs and 16 doubles in his second full season with the Braves farm system.

-GO LIONS-