Youngstown State senior pitcher Aaron Swenson signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, one week after two of his teammates were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Swenson, the 2008 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year and a second-team all-league pick in 2010, is in Sarasota, Fla., the home of the Orioles' Gulf Coast League squad.
"I am so happy Aaron," YSU head coach Rich Pasquale said. "He is a hard worker, a leader and a great person. It’s awesome to see good things happen to an outstanding human being. He has the stuff and stats to support him signing with the Orioles. It’s a great day for Penguins Baseball, but, more importantly, a great day for Aaron Swenson."
Swenson, a native of Twinsburg, Ohio, assembled one of the most-accomplished pitching careers in Youngstown State history in his four years on campus. He is YSU's career record holder in innings pitched with 347 and strikeouts with 265. His 20 wins ranks tied for fifth.
As a senior, Swenson went 8-1 while setting a new school record with 99.2 innings pitched. He struck out a career-best 94 batters in 2010, which ranks him second on the single season chart behind the record 126 by former first-round draft pick Brad Hennessey in 2001. Swenson made 14 starts, which tied another single season record. He wrapped up his career by defeating UIC in the Horizon League tournament, holding the Flames to two runs on six hits while striking out eight in seven innings.
His sophomore year, Swenson went 6-3 with a 3.55 ERA in 99 innings en route to earning conference pitcher-of-the-year accolades. He was even better against Horizon League opponents, going 6-1 with five complete-game wins in seven starts. His 65 strikeouts led the conference, and his 1.27 walks per nine innings ranked 16th nationally.
Swenson also had a strong summer heading into his senior campaign. During the 2009 season in the Valley League, he went 5-2 with a 2.20 ERA in nine starts for the Staunton Braves. He was ranked as having the ninth-most significant summer season in the country by PGCrosschecker.com, and he was chosen to start for the Valley League in the Mid-Atlantic Summer Classic.
YSU's Jacke Healey and Eric Marzec were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on June 8. Healey was picked by the Astros in the 27th round, and Marzec was taken by the Brewers in the 30th round.
Courtesy: YSU Sports Information
