By JON RATHBUN
Times Sports Editor
LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. — Saturday was a three-Dawg day at Major League Baseball’s annual amateur entry draft.
A trio of former Mohawk Valley DiamondDawg pitchers, each representing a different Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League season, found themselves picked on the final day of the three-day draft.
Left-handers Mike Gunn and John Means and right-hander Tyler Bray played in Little Falls in the summers of 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively. Each now has the opportunity to play for pay in the summer of 2014 and beyond.
Means, a senior at the University of West Virginia, was the first DiamondDawg drafted Saturday, going to the Baltimore Orioles in the 11th round. Means was 6-2 this spring with a 3.13 ERA in 12 starts for the Mountaineers, allowing 73 hits and 18 walks in 69 innings while striking out 46 batters.
While in Little Falls after his final season at Fort Scott Community College, Means was a PGCBL all-star, winning three of his five decisions with a 1.26 ERA in seven starts and one relief appearance. He was leading the league with 49 strikeouts in 43 innings when he was shut down for the summer and held opponents to a .186 batting average.
Bray excelled in the University of Louisiana-Monroe bullpen this spring, just as did last summer for the DiamondDawgs, and was drafted in the 26th round by the St. Louis Cardinals. He made one start this spring and pitched 32 times out of the bullpen, compiling an 8-5 record with five saves and a team-leading 3.36 ERA. He struck out 69 batters, walked 20 and allowed 58 hits in 67 innings.
Bray pitched 19 times for the DiamondDawgs, all in relief. He finished the season with a 2-3 record three saves and a 2.03 ERA, fanning 42 batters in 26 2/3 innings while allowing 22 hits and 12 walks. He got the chance to bat late in the season and went 2-for-2 with a double in PGCBL play.
Gunn, a two-way player who had just completed high school at Christian Brothers Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, when he played in Little Falls, settled into the bullpen at the University of Arkansas and posted a 1.23 ERA over three seaSons. This spring, he was 4-2 with seven saves and a 0.74 ERA, prompting the Boston Red Sox to select him in the 16th round. He struck out 35 batters and walked 16 in 36 2/3 innings while allowing 21 hits; opponents batted .165 against him. Gunn was called on twice by the Razorbacks to pitch in regional play at the NCAA Tournament and allowed one hit in 4 1/3 innings.
The DiamondDawgs used Gunn in relief eight times in 2011 and he pitched a total of 10 innings during which he allowed six hits and five walks while striking out 13 batters, Four of the five runs charged to Gunn were unearned and he earned a save to go with a 0.90 ERA.
Playing first base, the outfield corners and designated hitter, Gunn batted more frequently than he pitched in Little Falls. He hit .301 in the PGCBL with nine doubles, three home runs and 24 runs batted in, second on the team. He also scored 18 runs and was second on the team with 20 walks.