Abeita Chosen by Yankees in 19th Round

Lincoln ? Catcher Mitch Abeita continued the run of Husker baseball players taken in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft with his selection by the New York Yankees in the 19th round (No. 590 overall) on Friday.

Abeita, the sixth Husker taken in the first 20 rounds of the draft, was the second position player drafted, following second baseman Jake Opitz, who was taken in the 12th round by the Chicago Cubs. It is the first time that Abeita has been drafted in his career. He is the fourth Husker selected in the MLB Draft for the first time.

A two-year starter behind the plate, Abeita earned first-team All-Big 12 honors in 2008, hitting .337 with 10 homers and 49 RBIs. He was among the Big 12 leaders in batting average (19th), on-base percentage (.471, third) and walks (43, fourth), while ranking second on the squad in homers, RBIs and batting average. A semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, he reached safely via hit or walk in 54 of 56 games while his 10 homers were the most by a catcher since All-American Jed Morrris. Abeita totaled 18 multi-hit games on the year and hit .400 with three RBIs during the NCAA Lincoln Regional last weekend.

                                  Abeita, MitchYear       Avg   GP-GS     AB    R    H   2B   3B   HR  RBI   BB   SO   SB-ATT
2007....  .286   46-40    133   24   38   10    0    1   20   16   23    1-2
2008....  .337   56-54    187   45   63    7    0   10   49   43   29    7-7
TOTAL...  .316  102-94    320   69  101   17    0   11   69   59   52    8-9