June 12, 2008

Lamar draftees Tim Erickson and Justin Walker, along with free agent signee Brian Sisk, will all report to rookie camps in the next few days as they embark on their dream of playing professional baseball.

Erickson was drafted in the 37th round by the New York Mets and will report to the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League on in the next few days. Erickson is one of eight left-handed pitchers selected by the Mets organization in last week's first-year player draft.

Erickson, who is a four-year letterwinner from Sour Lake and was an all-state pitcher at Hardin-Jefferson HS, was the 2008 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year after going 8-3 with nine saves and a 3.83 earned run average. He finished his career at Lamar first in saves with 17, while his nine in 2008 rank second all-time on the single-season chart.

Walker, a 41st round pick of the Cincinnati Reds and one of nine lefties taken by the club, has decided to leave school and will report to the Reds' facility in Sarasota, Fla. He will find out later in the week if he will remain with the Gulf Coast League Reds or report to their other Class A affiliate in Billings, Mont. - the Billings Mustangs. If he is sent to Billings, he will be under the tutelage of former major league pitcher Tom Browning, who won 123 games with Cincinnati and threw a perfect game in 1988.

A local product from Nederland, Walker finished his third season at Lamar with as 2-2 record and a 4.85 ERA in 19 appearances, including seven starts. His seven walks in 65 innings pitched ranks seventh in the NCAA for fewest walks per nine innings. He made 51 appearances with a 5-6 record in his LU career.

Sisk was contacted on Tuesday about signing as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles organization, where he will be with the rookie level team in Bluefield, W. Va. He is scheduled to leave for the Appalachian League team - located in the southern tip of W. Va. about an hour west of Blacksburg, Va. - this weekend.

Sisk completed his two-year career at Lamar with a 21-5 record and became the first pitcher in school history to win at least 10 games in consecutive seasons. The Henderson, Texas native was named first-team All-Southland Conference as a junior and senior becoming just the second player in school history to earn first team honors in back-to-back years as Tony Mack did so in 1981-82. His .808 career winning percentage is first in school history and his 21 victories rank 11th all-time.

Erickson and Sisk's teams are scheduled to play June 29-July 1 in Bluefield, and July 30-Aug 1 in Kingsport.