Former Zags Wrap Up Professional Baseball Seasons
10/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Oct. 20, 2001
SPOKANE, Wash. - With the end of October nearing seven former Gonzaga University baseball players are wrapping up their playing seasons in the professional ranks. The following is a list of those players and their highlights from the 2001 season.
Mike Redmond finished his third season as a catcher with the Florida Marlins. The former All-Pac-10 North Conference catcher appeared in 48 games this season batting .312. The Marlins finished twelve games behind National League East Division Champion Atlanta in the playoff hunt.
Scott Morgan finished his second season in the Anaheim Angels organization after starting his career in the Cleveland Indians organization. Morgan, a former Indians minor league player of the year, led the Triple-A Salt Lake Stingers with 39 doubles and was second on the club with 28 home runs.
Bo Hart, a former All-West Coast Conference shortstop at Gonzaga, finished his second season with the High Single-A Potomac Cannons. Hart was named to the Carolina League All-Star team and finished the season leading the Cannons with a .305 batting average. Hart was selected as one of only four St. Louis Cardinals prospects to participate in the Arizona Fall League this season.
Steve Bennett finished his second professional season in the New York Mets organization. A former All-WCC pitcher at GU, Bennett opened the season at Single-A Capital City (S.C.). Bennett posted 77 strike outs in 12 games with a 2.94 earned run average before being promoted to the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League for the remainder of the season.
Jason Bay, Gonzaga's first two-time All-WCC first team selection, finished his second season in the Montreal Expos organization. Bay opened the season with the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State but was hampered by early season injuries. He finished the season with the Clinton (Iowa) Lumberkings and won the Midwest League batting championship with a .362 average.
David Hixson, a 28th round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants this season, completed his first professional season in the Northwest League. Hixson, a second-team All-WCC selection in 2001, helped the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes win the NWL Championship. He posted a 3-1 record with a 2.27 earned run average in 22 appearances.
Barry Matthews, a second-team All-American at Gonzaga, finished his first professional season after signing a free agent contract with the Detroit Tigers. Matthews pitched for the Lakeland Tigers of the Florida State League posting a 2-2 record. He appeared in 22 games on the season and tossed a complete game shutout.
