WNEC standout is free agent

SPRINGFIELD Former Western New England College baseball standout Eric Smolin signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday morning (June 19). He reported to the Gulf Coast League (GCL) Phillies in Clearwater, Florida this evening. The Rookie League team will play a 60-game schedule which began against the GCL Tigers.

Smolin led the Golden Bears' staff this spring with an 8-1 record and 1.85 earned-run-average. He had eight complete games allowing only 56 hits in 68 innings with a team high 58 strikeouts and only 16 walks. Opponents hit only .217 against him.

The 6-3, 175-lb. right-hander was named to the 2007 Rawlings American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division III All-American Second Team. He was selected the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Division III Pitcher-of-the-Year and voted to the All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) First Team.

Smolin lost his opening start of the season against Cortland (N.Y.) at the Port Charlotte Invitational in Florida on March 17, but then won his next eight decisions.

He had several notable games during the season tossing a six-hitter in a 4-1 win over against pre-season number one ranked Otterbein (Ohio) March 22 at the Port Charlotte Invitational. Smolin fired a four-hit shutout with nine strikeouts in a 1-0 victory at nationally-ranked Wheaton College on May 5 and gained the win against Williams College in the NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament May 16 in Harwich, Mass.

Smolin also was selected to the Division III Senior All-Star team that will play in the NEIBA Senior All-Star Game at Fenway Park on July 22.

"Eric signing a professional contract is the perfect ending to what has been a storybook season for him," said Western New England College baseball coach Matt LaBranche. "I've always felt that Eric was a gifted athlete who could compete at any level, and now after much hard work and a great deal of perseverance, he has a chance to live every ballplayer's dream. The entire WNEC baseball program is extremely proud and we wish him all the best in this new challenge."

For the past month Smolin was an intern with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays working in ticket sales, promotions, and marketing.

Several Major League teams scouted Smolin during the recently completed season, but he wasn't selected in the recent Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft.

"I really very, very excited about signing," said Smolin. "I received the call yesterday when I was at work with the Fisher Cats. The scout asked me if I'd like to play in the Philadelphia Phillies organization and I was shaking all day. I was disappointed that I wasn't drafted, but it's always been a dream of mine to play pro ball and now I have that opportunity."