A late-April rain turned to sleet and Ryan Birchard became methodical. He picked corners, made batters whiff and only two Onondaga players were swift enough to get a hit.
Birchard struck out 12 that day to give Niagara County Community College a 2-1 win, but that was the day coach Matt Clingersmith knew the 19-year-old was ready to turn pro. The other performances like a shutout of ECC on ESPN3 or the 12-strikeout game to open the NJCAA Division III World Series made Clingersmith realize Birchard was a once-in-a-lifetime player.
Entering the season with a fastball that topped out at 94 mph, Birchard was throwing 98 by the end of the season. He initially committed to Connecticut, then de-committed and re-committed to Oregon. On Monday, Birchard’s chances of throwing another college pitch became slim.
Birchard was selected in the fifth round with the 155th overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB Draft. He is the fifth player from NCCC selected all-time, but none have been taken higher in any sport.
The Auburn native finished his sophomore season with an 8-0 record. Birchard was second in NJCAA Division III with a 1.08 ERA and fifth with 95 strikeouts. His 17.10 strikeouts per nine innings was the highest of any junior college pitcher in the country.
Birchard joined former Thunderwolves Sean Jamieson (16th round, 2011), Christian Barczykowski (27th round, 2012), Christian Lindsay-Young (23rd round, 2016) and Starpoint alum Matt Cross (19th round, 2018) to be drafted.
Canisius College pitcher Matt Duffy was selected in the fourth round (115th overall) by the Boston Red Sox. He is the 15th Golden Griffin all-time to be taken in the MLB Draft.
Check back for more on this developing story.