Two Former Baseball Players Sign Pro Contracts
Jun 20, 2011 | Baseball
June 20, 2011
NEW ORLEANS - After anchoring the starting rotation and the bullpen for the past two seasons, Conrad Flynn and Drew Zizinia have each inked professional contracts with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Zizinia was a member of the 2008 NCAA Regional qualifying team, while Flynn owns the school's lowest walks-per-nine innings ration and posted 14 wins as the Green Wave's Friday night starter over the past three seasons.
"Conrad and Drew are both guys who deserve the opportunity to play in the professional ranks," said Tulane head coach Rick Jones. "They both are extremely hard workers and get the most out of their ability. I am very excited for both of them and wish them the best of luck on their journey."
Flynn will enter the professional ranks in Missoula, Mont. with the Missoula Osprey of the Pioneer League. The Osprey opens the season tonight (June 20), with Flynn starting the season as a part of the bullpen. That will be an adjustment for the right-hander, who started all 43 games of his career while on the Uptown campus. Those 43 starts are tied for eighth on the career charts at Tulane and his 1.41 walks-per-nine innings is the best in school history.
He amassed the 15th most innings pitched in school laurels - working 261.1 innings - and held the opposition to a .271 batting average to rank 17th all-time. He owned a 14-17 overall record in three seasons and fanned 184 batters to just 41 walks. He didn't walk a batter in 16 of his starts, while walking more than two batters just twice in his career.
Zizinia worked nearly exclusively out of the bullpen in his first three seasons with the Green Wave - missing the entire 2008 season due to injury - but moved into the starting rotation as a senior to set career-highs in five categories. The Bellaire, Texas native will begin his professional career in Yakima, Wash. with the Yakima Bears, who opened the season last weekend and are 1-2 overall on the year.
He appeared in 58 total games, including 20 in each of his final two seasons, while making nine starts in 2011. During the '11 season, the hard throwing right hander posted the 14th best batting average against in a single season at Tulane, holding the opposition to a .236 clip in 65 innings.
In his career, he struck out 99 batters in 119.2 innings of work during his career and limited the team in the opposing dugout to a meager .253 batting average in his career. He boasted a 6-2 record after going 3-1 during each of his last two seasons on the mound.
Flynn will be joined by fellow Conference USA alumnus' Jonathan Griffin (UCF) and Seth Simmons (ECU), while Mark Bourgeois (USM) will be in Yakima with Zizinia. All three of those players were both at their respective schools during the 2011 season.
Flynn and Zizinia's signing gives Tulane 66 players that have signed professional contracts since 1994. Of those players, 45 of them have been drafted by their respective teams and 22 players have signed free agent contracts.
--www.TulaneGreenWave.com--
