Youngstown State fifth-year senior Tom Clayton has signed a contract to continue his baseball career at the professional level with the Oakland County Cruisers of the Frontier League.
Clayton, the 2010 Horizon League Player of the Year, is the fourth Penguin in the past two weeks to receive an invitation to play professional baseball. Jacke Healey and Eric Marzec were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft on June 8, and Aaron Swenson signed a free-agent contract with the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.
"I am thrilled for Tom to have the opportunity to continue his baseball career," YSU head coach Rich Pasquale said. "He had a career year due to hard work on the field and in the batting cages. The Oakland County Cruisers fans are going to be excited every night watching Tommy hustle and play with a 'blue collar' work ethic."
Clayton is scheduled to join the team on Sunday for the start of its three-game series at Windy City.
As a senior at Youngstown State, Clayton became the school's first conference player of the year in 56 seasons of baseball. The Poland, Ohio, native batted a team-high .412 with 45 runs scored, 17 doubles, 10 home runs, 47 RBIs and a team-best .700 slugging percentage in 2010. He led the Horizon League in slugging percentage while ranking second in the circuit in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage and fifth in home runs. His 77 total bases and eight home runs in league play were also the top marks in the conference.
The Frontier League is made up of 12 teams in cities from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. The East Division consists of squads from Avon, Ohio, Kalamazoo, Mich., Traverse City, Mich., Waterford, Mich., Washington, Pa., and Crestwood, Ill. The West Division is comprised of teams from Evansville, Ind., Sauget, Ill., Normal, Ill., Marion, Ill., Florence, Ky., and O'Fallon, Mo. Oakland County currently leads the East Division with a 15-9 record.
Courtesy: Youngstown State Sports Information
