Former Allegheny Student-Athlete Makes MLB Debut

Aug 2, 2006

PITTSBURGH – Former Allegheny College student-athlete Josh Sharpless made his professional Major League Baseball debut on Tuesday night for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched an inning of scoreless and hitless relief in a 4-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

After replacing starter Nate Snell in the eighth inning, Sharpless walked the first batter he faced, defending National League home run and RBI champion Andruw Jones, before forcing catcher Brian McCann to pop out to third. With Jones standing on second after a stolen base, the former Gator right hander walked right fielder Jeff Francoeur before forcing the Braves’ right fielder out at second on a grounder by Adam LaRoche. Ryan Langerhans walked to load the bases, before Pete Orr, pinch hitting for starting pitcher John Smoltz, flew out to left center to end the inning.

Sharpless, who pitched for the Gators from 2000 to 2003, ended his four-year career at Allegheny with an 18-6 record, striking out 204 batters in 198.2 innings. He had an earned run average of 3.65 over his four years, including a 2.45 ERA during his senior year, in which he was 6-2 with 84 strikeouts in 63.2 innings.

The 6-5, 235-pound pitcher is the first player in North Coast Athletic Conference history to play in a game at the Major League Baseball level. He was drafted by the Pirates in the 24th round in 2003. He is currently just one of two 2003 Pirate draft picks to be active in Major League Baseball. The other, first-round pick Paul Maholm, was the starter for tonight’s (Wednesday) game. With his debut, he also became the first Beaver County native to make the active roster since 1976.

The Pirates face off against the Braves in each of the next two days, before the team heads out for a six-game, seven-day road trip with series against the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Photos courtesy of Dave Arrigo of the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization.

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