Baseball: More Pirates drafted

Former Orange Coast College baseball players Kyle Dowdy and Zach Nehrir were also selected in last week’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Kyle Dowdy, a right-handed pitcher who last played for OCC in 2013, was taken in the 12th round (No. 370 overall) by the Detroit Tigers.

Nehrir, who also competed last for the Pirates in 2013 before moving on to Houston, was taken in the 16th round (No. 466) by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Dowdy was 9-2 with a 2.45 earned-run average to help the University of Houston earn the right to host their own NCAA regional. He was 6-3 with a 2.38 ERA in his final season at OCC. He was a second-team All-American Athletic Conference honoree in 2015 after allowing 78 hits and striking out 72 in 95 1/3 innings. He had three complete games and one shutout and 12 of his 19 appearances for the Cougars were starts.

Nehrir, a senior outfielder at Houston Baptist, hit .333 with a team-best 76 hits and 35 runs en route to first-team All-Southland Conference and first-team SLC All-Academic honors in 2015. He produced five home runs and 44 RBIs, the latter ranking second in the conference, to help the Huskies earn the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance.

Nehrir added 10 doubles and five triples for the Huskies, who won the conference tournament. He is the highest draft selection ever from Houston Baptist.

In his final season at OCC in 2013, he batted .318 with 50 hits and 21 RBIs.

Dowdy and Nehrir joined former Pirates David Hill, Jacob Hill and Chris Iriart as those drafted last week.

David Hill was chosen in the fourth round (No. 107) by the Colorado Rockies after earning West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year honors in his only season at the University of San Diego.

Iriart was a 12th-round pick (No. 168) by the Oakland A’s, while Jacob Hill, also a junior pitcher at USD, was a 32nd-round pick (No 964) by the Cleveland Indians.

— From staff reports