Wake Forest Athletics
Antonelli Signs with San Diego Padres
6/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 13, 2006
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Wake Forest third baseman and first-round draft pick Matt Antonelli agreed to a deal worth $1,575,000 with the San Diego Padres on Monday, six days after being selected with the 17th overall choice.
Antonelli, 21, is scheduled to attend the Padres' game against the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight before reporting to the short-season Single-A Eugene Emeralds, whose season begins Monday.
Antonelli received the same amount given to the player picked in the same slot last year: shortstop C.J. Henry by the New York Yankees.
Antonelli, a first team All-ACC selection in 2006, batted .333 with 11 home runs, 38 RBI and 15 stolen bases this spring. The Peabody, Mass., native also recorded team-highs in runs scored (64), hits (73) and doubles (18). Antonelli ranked in the ACC's top 10 in runs scored (4th), home runs (t-8th), doubles (5th), total bases (6th), walks (8th) and slugging percentage (10th). He also ranked 28th in the NCAA in runs scored.
In three seasons at Wake Forest, Antonelli started all 163 games the Demon Deacons played. He finished his career with a .324 batting average, 18 home runs and 110 RBI. Antonelli swiped 46 career bases and set a new school record with 128 career walks -- surpassing D'Antona's previous mark of 113. He also finished sixth on Wake's all-time runs scored list with 183. Antonelli stands among the top 10 in three different single-season categories. In 2005, he not only set a school record with 57 walks, but also scored 68 runs (t-10th) and registered 22 doubles (t-8th).
Antonelli also made a name for himself in two tremendous summers with the Falmouth Commodores in the prestigious Cape Cod League. He batted .273, about 40 points higher than league average, over his two summers and was named an All-Star in both 2004 and 2005.
-- WakeForestSports.com --
