Yankees acquire Bearkats' Luke Prihoda
7/9/2009 9:15:00 AM | Baseball
Former Sam Houston State baseball standout Luke Prihoda is getting another shot at making it to the big leagues.
Prihoda, who has spent the past season pitching independently for the Grand Prairie AirHogs of the American Association, was acquired by the New York Yankees on Tuesday and was assigned to the Class A affiliate, Charleston RiverDogs of the South Atlantic League.
The hard-throwing right-handed reliever had a remarkable career at Sam Houston State. Prihoda earned the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Stopper of the Year Award in 2007 after leading the country in saves (18).
The Weimar product helped the Bearkats win the Southland Conference tournament championship (the first of three in a row) that season by compiling a 7-3 record with a 1.62 earned run average in 35 appearances. Prihoda was named the SLC Pitcher of the Year and the tournament's most valuable player in 2007 and appeared in two games at the NCAA Oxford (Miss.) Regional.
Prihoda was originally drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 733rd pick in the 2007 First-Year Player draft. He played for the Class A Missoula Ospreys and went 3-2 in 22 games. In 2008, he pitched for the Edinburg Coyotes of the United League, going 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA in 39 2/3 innings.
Before being picked up by the Yankees, Prihoda had a sub-2.00 ERA in 38 innings with a 3-1 record and 27 strikeouts for the AirHogs. He also was holding opposing batters under a .212 batting average from both sides of the plate.
