Avon High School and Oberlin College graduate Phil Brua, who accepted a free agent contract from the Toronto Blue Jays, has been assigned to the Vancouver Canadians, a Class A affiliate that plays in the Northwest League.

The Canadians have their home opener this Friday against the Yakima Bears.

Brua left Oberlin as the all-time leader in saves (11) and appearances (65) and is second all-time in wins (15). The sidearm specialist held opposing hitters to just a .213 batting average while averaging over six strikeouts per nine innings during his senior season.Brua’s chances of signing a professional contract came to light last summer while playing in the Prospect League for the Lorain County Ironmen.

In four years at Oberlin College, Brua posted a record of 15-15 in 65 total appearances, while making 17 starts. He threw 187 2/3 innings and struck out 143 batters. He leaves as the all-time saves leader with 11.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Amherst graduate Ryan Rua, who was drafted 534th overall in the 17th round by the Texas Rangers, was assigned to the Spokane Indians, of the Northwest League.

Rua and his Spokane team open up the season on Friday in its home opener against Salem-Keizer.

Rua, who was ranked as the fourth-highest draftable prospect in Division II by Baseball America before the season, batted an even .400 for the second-straight season and set Lake Erie single-season records with 68 hits and 19 stolen bases. He also led the team with 44 RBIs, 42 runs scored and 16 doubles while tying for the team lead with five home runs. Rua slugged a team-high .594 and had a Storm-best 1.031 OPS, starting all 47 games.

For his career, Rua has a .374 average with 27 home runs and 131 RBIs. He finishes with 276 hits and 117 runs while stealing 33 bases. He is the school’s career leader in slugging, homers, RBIs, total bases and stolen base percentage.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Just hours after inking a deal with the Traverse City Beach Bums of the Frontier League, Avon graduate and Oberlin College graduate Phil Brua accepted a free agent contract offer from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Brua will report to the Blue Jays extended spring training in Dunedin, Florida, to be evaluated by the club before being assigned to one of its minor league affiliates.

"It’s great to see a guy get rewarded for all of the hard work he has put in over the last four years," Oberlin head coach Adrian Abrahamowicz said. "Phil is a great kid that has the drive and passion to succeed at the next level."

Brua left Oberlin as the all-time leader in saves (11) and appearances (65) and is second all-time in wins (15). The sidearm specialist held opposing hitters to just a .213 batting average while averaging over six strikeouts per nine innings during his senior season.

Brua’s chances of signing a professional contract came to light last summer while playing in the Prospect League for the Lorain County Ironmen. Brua shut down hitters in the Prospect League, which features mainly Division I players with high pro potential. The two-time All-NCAC selection led the league in appearances (30), tied for third in saves (10) and posted the third-best ERA (1.46) last summer. In 49 1/3 innings of work he recorded 30 strikeouts while walking just 10. His opposition batting average of .180 was also second best in the league. He allowed just eight earned runs and surrendered just 30 hits while finishing with a record of 4-2.

During his junior season for the Yeomen, Brua was a First-Team All-NCAC selection and Third-Team American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Midwest Region selection. In that season he helped lead the Yeomen to a school-record win total (18) while finishing third in the league with .278 ERA. He set the school record for saves (6) and tied the school record for wins by going 6-3. In that season he led the NCAC with a .227 batting average against. He struck out 50 and averaged over eight strikeouts per nine innings.

In four years at Oberlin College, Brua posted a record of 15-15 in 65 total appearances, while making 17 starts. He threw 187 2/3 innings and struck out 143 batters. He leaves as the all-time saves leader with 11.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Amherst graduate Ryan Rua was drafted 534th overall in the 17th round by the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

Rua was ranked as the fourth-highest draftable prospect in Division II by Baseball America before the season and had another stellar season at the plate.

He batted an even .400 for the second-straight season and set Lake Erie single-season records with 68 hits and 19 stolen bases. He also led the team with 44 RBIs, 42 runs scored and 16 doubles while tying for the team lead with five home runs. Rua slugged a team-high .594 and had a Storm-best 1.031 OPS, starting all 47 games.

In addition to his performance at the plate, Rua also contributed on the mound, going 1-0 with two saves and a 3.18 ERA in six relief appearances.

For his career, Rua has a .374 average with 27 home runs and 131 RBIs. He finishes with 276 hits and 117 runs while stealing 33 bases. He is the school’s career leader in slugging, homers, RBIs, total bases and stolen base percentage.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Perkins graduate Kyle Hallock is heading to the pros.

Hallock was chosen 310th in the 10th round by the Houston Astros on Tuesday.

Hallock garnered Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I Third Team All-America selection as members of the No. 24 ranked Kent State. Hallock was the 27th pick of the 49th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2010 MLB Draft, but chose to go back to college.

"After last year (drafted by the Phillies) I felt going back to college was a better fit," Hallock said. "I wanted to further my education and raise my stock for this year."

Hallock posted a MAC-best 10 wins, which tied him for 17th in the nation and second on the school’s single-season records list. Hallock struck out 83 while allowing just 21 earned runs over 99 innings and 15 starts and his ERA of 1.91 ranked 30th in the country.

"It feels great," Hallock said. "I look back at all the travel baseball I played growing up. This has been a vision, dream of mine since I was 8 years old and started playing competitive travel baseball."

He ranks second in school history with 232 career strikeouts, third with 289 2/3 innings pitched and tied for seventh with 22 career victories.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Western Reserve graduate Andrew Chafin has been selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 43rd pick in the compensatory first round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

Chafin becomes Kent State’s 76th draft selection and first ever selected by the Diamondbacks. He is the 20th Kent State pitcher who has been mentored by associate head coach/pitching coach Mike Birkbeck to be drafted.

Chafin, who just helped lead the No. 24-ranked Golden Flashes to Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament crowns and a trip to the 2011 NCAA Championship Austin Regional Final, entered the collegiate postseason ranked 29th in the nation in ERA and tied for 39th in strikeouts. Chafin’s efforts helped the Flashes rank sixth in the country in team ERA in 2011.

He finished the 2011 campaign with an 8-1 record, posting 105 strikeouts over 89 innings. Chafin’s 2011 strikeout total ranks as the third-most in a single season in the Kent State record books. He finished his two-year collegiate career with a 12-2 record to go with a 1.80 ERA and 160 strikeouts.

Chafin concluded his Kent State career by outdueling Texas right-handed top-15 draft pick Taylor Jungmann last Saturday in the winner’s bracket final of the Austin Regional. He fanned eight over 8 2/3 innings to power the Golden Flashes to a 7-5 triumph over the No. 5-ranked Longhorns on Texas’s home field.

Chafin constructed a scoreless complete-game masterpiece in Kent State’s MAC Tournament semifinal win over Eastern Michigan, striking out six and walking two to improve to 7-1 on the season. The First Team All-MAC selection sat down the side in three innings.

Chafin hurled a complete-game four-hit shutout and tallied a career-high 15 strikeouts with no walks as Kent State won its MAC opening game and 2011 home opener, 1-0, over Toledo on March 25. He hurled 113 pitches with a whopping 88 going for strikes, sat down the side in six innings — including striking out six straight between the seventh and ninth frames — in addition to issuing 22 first-pitch strikes. He was awarded MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week for the performance. Chafin tallied 13 strikeouts, allowed one earned run on seven hits in 8 2/3 innings of work and did not issue a walk as Kent State defeated Eastern Michigan, 4-2, on April 8. He totaled seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball for the Golden Flashes and had a no-hitter going through five frames at then-No. 23 Louisville on March 4 in his second start of the season, garnering MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week accolades for his effort.

Chafin’s solid sophomore campaign came after he rebounded from an elbow injury that sidelined him for the 2010 season. As a freshman in 2009, Chafin was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team after becaming only the third Kent State player and the first since 1992 to be named MAC Freshman of the Year.

swalker@MorningJournal.com