June 8, 2005

ARLINGTON, Texas - The baseball careers of former Texas-Arlington pitchers Jake Baxter and Grant Varnell were selected in the 25th round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday. Baxter was taken with the 750th overall pick by the Detroit Tigers and Varnell followed by being taken by the San Diego Padres with the 758th overall pick. Baxter and Varnell become the eighth and ninth players drafted in four years under head coach Jeff Curtis.

Baxter, a native of Westminster, Calif., was a second team all-Southland Conference performer after going 7-7 with a 2.60 ERA. He struck out 94 and walked only 25 in 117.2 innings pitched. He finished the season ranking third on the single-season innings pitched list and fourth on the strikeouts list. His 167 strikeouts in his two-year career put him 10th on the all-time list. Baxter tossed a team-best six complete-games on the season and fanned a season-best 11 hitters in throwing a complete-game six-hit shutout against Texas State. He allowed two earned runs or less in nine of his 16 starts on the season.

Varnell (Allen, Texas) earned victories in six of his last seven starts and finished the season with an 8-2 record and a 3.33 ERA. He earned honorable mention all-SLC honors after striking out 71 and walking only 18 in 110.2 innings. Varnell ranked second on the team with five complete-games and tossed a six-hit shutout against McNeese State. His last collegiate outing was a CG four hitter to defeat regular-season champion Northwestern State in SLC Tournament.