Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's B.J. LaRosa Selected by Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball Draft
6/9/2010 8:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 9, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - B.J. LaRosa (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal), the Bucknell baseball team's starting catcher each of the last two years, was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 23rd round (pick 712) of the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft on Tuesday. LaRosa, a senior, concluded his Bison career this past weekend at the NCAA Regionals at South Carolina.
LaRosa's drafting makes if five consecutive years a Bison player has been chosen. Kyle Walter started the string in 2006, while Jason Buursma was drafted following both his junior (2007) and senior (2008) campaigns. Last spring, former Bucknell first baseman Mark Angelo, who completed his final year of eligibility at East Stroudsburg, was picked by the Seattle Mariners.
A durable catcher who started 56 of Bucknell's 60 games this spring, LaRosa helped the Bison to two NCAA appearances, two Patriot League Tournament titles and a Patriot League regular-season crown during his career. In his final campaign he hit .371 with five home runs, 36 runs batted in, 75 hits and 43 runs scored, all career highs.
A two-time First Team All-Patriot League selection, LaRosa ranks sixth on Bucknell's single-season at bats list (202), fifth in hits (75) and second in sacrifice bunts (11). On a career level, LaRosa ranks eighth at Bucknell in batting average (.345) and fifth in sacrifice bunts (15).
LaRosa, who finished the year with four multi-hit games in Bucknell's eight postseason contests, started the year on an amazing hot streak. The right-handed hitter posted 10 multi-hit outings in his first 12 games played and hit .529 (27-51) over that span. In 2010, he posted three hitting streaks of at least seven games and collected at least one hit in 16 of his final 18 contests.
A strong defensive player, LaRosa committed just three errors as a senior and threw out 19 potential basestealers. As a junior he gunned down better than 50 percent of runners trying to steals against him.
The third, and final, day of the MLB Draft starts Wednesday at noon.
