University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Sabino Signs with St. Louis Cardinals
6/20/2018 2:01:00 PM | Baseball
Pitt Infielder Hit 16 Homers in 2018
PITTSBURGH – After putting together a phenomenal 2018 campaign, Pitt infielder Liam Sabino has signed with the St. Louis Cardinals following his draft selection.
Sabino was taken in the 35th round of the 2018 MLB First Year Player Draft with the 1,053rd selection of the Cardinals. He was the fourth of five Panthers drafted and the first positional player selected from Pitt since 2016.
"Transferring to the University of Pittsburgh was one of the best decisions of my life," Sabino said. "I took a leap of faith, bet on myself and accomplished many of the goals I had envisioned long before I had to opportunity to do so. However, no feat or milestone is accomplished alone. I would like to thank my family, my coaches, my teammates, team trainers, Pitt staff and my friends for their constant support. I am so grateful for my experiences in Pittsburgh; it's a place with unlimited potential, filled with incredible people who will be in my life forever. With that being said, I am proud to represent my family, my school and everything they stand for in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Lastly, one of my greatest honors in life was to be a small part of an incredible group of young men that can say they left the Pitt baseball program better than they found it. Thank you."
Sabino shined in his first season of action with the Panthers, proving to be a formidable foe in the batter's box. The redshirt junior hit .286 on the year, smacking 17 doubles and 16 homers, tallying 44 RBI and a .595 slugging percentage. His slugging mark ranked fifth in the ACC and 85th in the nation, while his 16 homers checked in at fourth in the league and 28th in the country, and sixth in program history for homers in a single season. He also ranked in the top 10 in the ACC in doubles (17, seventh) and stolen bases (18, 10th).
He made a majority of his starts at third base before moving to second base to end the season and was one of just three Panthers to make the start in all 55 games. He led the Panthers with six game-winning RBI and 12 multi-RBI performances, also tallying 18 multi-hit outings. His 16 homers were the most by a Panther batter since David Chester also smacked 16 in 2011.
Sabino was sidelined for the entire 2017 season after transferring from powerhouse Vanderbilt. In his time with the Commodores, he appeared in 48 games, making nine starts. He tallied 19 hits with four doubles and one home run. As a sophomore he recorded a .419 slugging percentage and a .400 on base mark in 43 at bats, adding eight RBI.
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Sabino was taken in the 35th round of the 2018 MLB First Year Player Draft with the 1,053rd selection of the Cardinals. He was the fourth of five Panthers drafted and the first positional player selected from Pitt since 2016.
"Transferring to the University of Pittsburgh was one of the best decisions of my life," Sabino said. "I took a leap of faith, bet on myself and accomplished many of the goals I had envisioned long before I had to opportunity to do so. However, no feat or milestone is accomplished alone. I would like to thank my family, my coaches, my teammates, team trainers, Pitt staff and my friends for their constant support. I am so grateful for my experiences in Pittsburgh; it's a place with unlimited potential, filled with incredible people who will be in my life forever. With that being said, I am proud to represent my family, my school and everything they stand for in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Lastly, one of my greatest honors in life was to be a small part of an incredible group of young men that can say they left the Pitt baseball program better than they found it. Thank you."
Sabino shined in his first season of action with the Panthers, proving to be a formidable foe in the batter's box. The redshirt junior hit .286 on the year, smacking 17 doubles and 16 homers, tallying 44 RBI and a .595 slugging percentage. His slugging mark ranked fifth in the ACC and 85th in the nation, while his 16 homers checked in at fourth in the league and 28th in the country, and sixth in program history for homers in a single season. He also ranked in the top 10 in the ACC in doubles (17, seventh) and stolen bases (18, 10th).
He made a majority of his starts at third base before moving to second base to end the season and was one of just three Panthers to make the start in all 55 games. He led the Panthers with six game-winning RBI and 12 multi-RBI performances, also tallying 18 multi-hit outings. His 16 homers were the most by a Panther batter since David Chester also smacked 16 in 2011.
Sabino was sidelined for the entire 2017 season after transferring from powerhouse Vanderbilt. In his time with the Commodores, he appeared in 48 games, making nine starts. He tallied 19 hits with four doubles and one home run. As a sophomore he recorded a .419 slugging percentage and a .400 on base mark in 43 at bats, adding eight RBI.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
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