MADE, GILARDO SELECTED IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FIRST YEAR PLAYER DRAFT 

Blauvelt, NY (6/11/07) Dominican College baseball players Jose Made (Binghamton, NY) and Peter Gilardo (Cornwall, NY) were selected in the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft held over the weekend.

 Made, who just completed his sophomore year at DC as the starting shortstop, was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 20th round (607 overall pick) of the draft.  He started 36 of 38 games this season for the Chargers.  He led the team with a .338 batting average, 49 hits, 38 RBIs and 10 doubles.  He was tied for first on the team with three triples and was tied for the lead in home runs with four on the year.  He was a perfect 11-11 in stolen bases and finsihed the year with a .931 fielding percentage.  Made was 22nd in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) in batting average and tied for first in triples.

 In his freshman year, Made, was named the 2006 CACC Rookie of the Year after posting a .380 batting average, 89 hits, 10 triples, 61 runs scored and 46 RBIs to lead the Chargers.  He started all 60 games at shortstop and was named to the All-CACC Second Team.  He finished fifth in the CACC in batting, first in runs scored and hits, third in RBIs, first in triples and total bases (126).  Made was also named the 2006 CACC Tournament MVP and to the All-CACC Tournament Team after hitting .450 with nine hits and 10 RBIs in the tournament.

"This is a great time for my family and myself," Made said.  "I am very excited to have the chance to play baseball on the professional level.  I had a feeling that I was going to be drafted  somewhere after the sixteenth round, but when it actually happened I didn't really believe it."

"This is a great opportunity of Jose," Head Baseball Coach Rick Giannetti stated.  "We are definitely going to miss him next year.  He was an impact player for DC, both offensively and defensively, in his two seasons with us.  It is going to be tough to find someone to take his place." 

Gilardo, who just finished his last season as the Chargers catcher, was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 45th round (1,340 overall pick) in the draft.  He finished the 2007 season with a .316 batting average to finish third on the team.  He finished 27th in the CACC in hitting and was third in throwing out base runners (16).  Gilardo, was named to the All-CACC Second Team for the fourth consecutive year.

Gilardo has been a three year captain of the Chargers.  He finishes his career at Dominican with a .328 average, 174 hits, 37 doubles, three triples and six home runs.  He had a .443 slugging percentage, a .971 fielding percentage and threw out 59 base runners.

"It's awesome that I will have the opportunity to continue playing baseball on the professional level," Gilardo said.  "I was following the draft on my computer and it was just an amazing feeling when I was picked by the Boston Red Sox.  I am anxious and excited to get to Florida and get started playing."

"Pete has been the best defensive catcher in the region for the past few years," Giannetti said.  "He is the player I wanted on the field in big situations because he always came through in the clutch.  For the last four years, Pete has led our defense and limited the opportunities for opponents to run on us."

Made and Gilardo are the 23rd and 24th Dominican College baseball players to sign professional contracts in school history.  Rich Scalamandre, James Mondesir, and Chris Canelliz all signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2002.

 "I am very happy for Jose and Pete," Giannetti said.  "I wish them all the best."