MSU Hurlers Doolittle, Johnson, Gant Sign Professional Baseball Contracts
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Three pitchers from Mississippi State¹s 2005 baseballteam ?€? senior right-handers Todd Doolittle and Alan Johnson and junior JamieGant have signed professional baseball contracts and leave this week tobegin their careers in professional baseball.
Doolittle, from Meridian, Miss., signed a free agent contract with theFlorida Marlins while Johnson, from Pleasant Grove, Ala., inked a free agentpact with the Colorado Rockies. Winona, Miss., native Jamie Gant, one offive Diamond Dogs selected in last week¹s professional draft, has come toterms with the Houston Astros.
Doolittle (5-8, 3.72) is expected to report to the Marlins¹ extended springtraining camp in Jupiter, Fla., this week. He started 14 games as a senior,tossing two complete games and ranking second on the club with 82.1 inningspitched and 66 strikeouts. He held opposing hitters to a .234 battingaverage.
Doolittle was tabbed for SEC Pitcher of the Week honors Mar. 28 aftermatching a career best with 8.0 innings pitched in a series-clinching 13-4win at Arkansas. He later tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout at Georgiaand in MSU¹s successful run through the 2005 SEC Tournament turned in acareer pitching performance. In MSU¹s 6-2 SEC Tournament win over SouthCarolina May 26, Doolittle fanned a career-high 13 over 8-2/3 innings. Forhis exploits in Hoover, Ala., Doolittle received Louisville SluggerNational Player of the Week and SEC all-tournament team honors.
The former West Lauderdale High School and Meridian Community College hurlercompiled an 8-10 record and 3.84 earned run average in 32 careerappearances, 22 as a starter.
Johnson (5-6, 4.15) is set to begin his pro baseball career with theRockies¹ Pioneer League team in Casper, Wy. A three-year regular in theBulldogs¹ weekend rotation, Johnson compiled a 13-15 career record with a4.82 earned run average, appearing in 44 games, 43 as a starter. Heregistered 176 strikeouts in 252.0 career innings pitched, registeringsingle-season and team-leading bests with 91.0 innings pitched and 70strikeouts as a senior.
In his final career appearance, Johnson picked up the win in a sterlingnine-inning complete-game 13-2 win over Florida Atlantic in the NCAA CoralGables Regional, striking out six and allowing two runs on six hits. As ajunior he became the first Mississippi State pitcher to be honored as theSEC Pitcher Of the Week three times in a season.
Gant, a 29th-round pick of the Houston Astros, is set to begin hisprofessional career in Troy, N.Y., with the Astros¹ Tri-City Valleycats ofthe New York-Penn League.
He compiled a 1-0 record with a 1.29 earned run average in nine reliefappearances. He struck out 13 in 14 innings of mound duty.
He appeared in 48 career games, seven as a starter, posting an 11-7 recordwith two saves and a 3.29 career earned run average. He struck out 98batters in 125-2/3 innings. gant was tabbed by Collegiate baseball magazinefor Freshman All-America Team honors after posting a 6-1 record with a saveand a 1.15 earned run average in 2003. He earned all-tournament team honorsat both the Southeastern Conference tournament in Hoover, Ala., and the 2003NCAA Starkville Regional at Dudy Noble Field.
