ECU's Holba & Litton selected on day 3 of the MLB Draft

GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU juniors Chris Holba and Connor Litton were selected on the third day of the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Holba was picked in the 11th round (333 overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals while Litton was taken in the 20th round (587 overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies.

With today’s selections, the Pirates have had three players picked in this years draft following junior Dwayna Williams-Sutton who was picked in the fifth round (141 overall) by the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

Chris Holba – 2018 Biographical Sketch

Selected in the 11th round (pick 333) of the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals … Unanimous First-Team All-America Athletic Conference selection … Named to Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List … Perfect Game Midseason All-America selection … Two-Time AAC Honor Roll member … Named 2018 Jungle Pitching MVP … Named ECU Male Student-Athlete of the Month (March 2018) … Posted a 9-1 record in 15 games (all starts) … His .900 win percentage is tied for sixth on ECU’s single-season charts … Combined on a pair of shutouts (UNC and Saint Joseph’s) … Struck out 60 batters (third on the team) while walking 20 … Allowed 30 runs (27 earned) on 86 hits in 81.1 innings … Tallied eight quality starts … Notched wins in his first five starts (Western Carolina, UNC, Saint Joseph’s, Charlotte and Maryland) … Followed that with victories against Wichita State, Washington, USF and Memphis … Fanned multiple batters in a game 13 times with a season-best eight on three occasions … Opened the season without allowing a run in 25.1 innings (streak snapped at Charlotte) … Stood 30th nationally in wins (nine), while ranking 158th in ERA (2.99) … Overall, tied for AAC lead in wins … Ranked among league leaders (overall) in starts (t3rd) and innings pitched (eighth) … In league games only, ranked eighth in ERA (3.03) … Posted a 3-1 record in seven starts with 18 strikeouts and 10 walks in 35.2 frames … Listed as the N. 25 prospect in The American in the country by D1Baseball heading into his junior season … Two-time ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll member (Fall 2015, Fall 2017) … Two-time American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team selection (2016-17).

Career Numbers at ECU: 16-4 record with two saves, 3.73 ERA, 154.1 IP, 54 games (22 starts), 168 hits, 73 runs, 64 earned runs, 38 walks, 126 strikeouts, combined on five shutouts

CAREER HIGHS - innings pitched: 7.1 (3x - last at Memphis 4/20/18); strikeouts: 9 (2x - last vs. Mercer 3/19/17); walks: 4 (2x - last vs. UCF 5/22/18); hits: 9 (2x - last vs. CIN 5/11/18); runs: 6 vs. UNC Wilmington (6/1/18); earned runs: 6 vs. UNC Wilmington (6/1/18).

Connor Litton – 2018 Biographical Sketch

Selected in the 20th round (pick 587) by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft … Started all 59 games played at third base … Batted .285 (63-for-221) with nine home runs … Laced 12 doubles, drove in 38 runs and scored 40 … Stole 7 of 11 bases … Drew 32 walks, was hit by five pitches and struck out 42 times … Ranked among the team leaders in doubles (third), home runs (third), hits (fourth), RBI (fourth), runs (fourth) and stolen bases (fourth) … Registered 14 two-out RBI to stand third on the team … Tallied 18 multi-hit and 10 multi-RBI games … Had season-long 12 hit streak from March 17 to April 6 where he batted ..361 (17-for-47) with five home runs, 14 RBI and 14 runs scored … Belted home runs against Cincinnati, Missouri State, Western Carolina, Wichita State (twice), Wofford, UCF and UNCW (twice) … Registered at least one hit in 41 of 59 games … Scored at least one run in 26 games (multiple 10 times) … Drove in at least one run in 22 contests … Plated a season-high four runs twice (UCF/March 24, UNCW/June 1) … Hit grand slam at UCF (March 24) … Homered in four-straight games (March 30 to April 4) … Had walk-off RBI against Cincinnati (May 13) with a two-run single in the ninth inning … Laced three doubles against Houston (May 25) in the 2018 AAC Baseball Championships … Fielded at a .963 clip committing seven errors in 191 chances … Registered 46 putouts, 138 assists and turned seven double plays … Pirates posted a 42-17 record when he started at third base … Batted anywhere from first to seventh in the lineup, but primarily in the five hole …

Career Numbers at ECU: .285 (63-for-221), 9 home runs, 40 runs, 38 RBI (2 GW), 12 doubles, 31 walks, 5 hit by pitches, 7 stolen bases, 21 extra base hits.

CAREER HIGHS - at-bats: 6 at Charlotte-2 (3/10/18); runs: 4 vs. Wofford (4/4/18); hits: 3 (4x - last vs. UNC Wilmington 6/1/18); RBI: 4 (2x – last vs. UNC Wilmington 6/1/18); home runs: 1 (9x - last vs. UNC Wilmington 6/1/18); stolen bases: 1 (7x - last vs. Houston 5/25/18).