FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – JUNE 9, 2010

SMC Alums Hembree and Black Drafted by MLB
SMC Recruit Scott taken in 14th Round

Heath Hembree

Taylor Black

SPARTANBURG, SC – 2009 graduates Heath Hembree and Taylor Black have both been drafted in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft, in the 5th and 28th rounds respectively. 

Hembree, who pitched at Broome High School and now pitches for the College of Charleston, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 5th round yesterday.  As a sophomore at SMC, Hembree was 7-0 with a 1.22 ERA and made the Region 10 All Region team.

Hembree was the closer for the College of Charleston, posting 5-3 record with four saves to help the Cougars to the first round of the NCAA Division 1 baseball tournament. 

Taylor Black, who played shortstop at Easley High School and University of Kentucky, was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 28th round.  While at SMC, Black started at shortstop with a .351 batting average, 61 hits, 41 RBI’s and 6 homeruns his sophomore year.

SMC signee and Riverside High School grad, Jordan Scott, was drafted in the 14th round by the Houston Astros.

Spartanburg Methodist College has 14 intercollegiate teams that compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The College is in its 99th year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment.  More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.

For more information, contact SMC athletic director Mark Perdue at perduem@smcsc.edu or (864) 587-4237.

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