Mount Olive's Levitt, Knox chosen in Major League draft

By From staff reports
Published in Sports on June 9, 2011 1:47 PM

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MOC Sports Information

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Two more Mount Olive College players were selected during day three of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, as pitcher Pete Levitt was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 32nd round and designated hitter Michael Knox was picked in the 41st round by the St. Louis Cardinals. The 49-round draft concluded Wednesday in New York City.

Three Mount Olive players were selected in this year's draft. Carter Capps was picked by the Seattle Mariners at the end of the third round Tuesday. The school record for most draft picks in a year is five in 2008, when Mount Olive won the NCAA II National Championship.

Levitt, a right-hander from Chesapeake, Va., retired the first 19 batters he faced on his way to a victory over Millersville in the first round of the 2011 National Finals. Levitt allowed only one unearned run on three hits against Millersville. Levitt also got the start against West Florida, limiting the eventual national champion to an unearned run through six innings before the Argonauts rallied in the seventh. Levitt, who struck out seven in each of his two starts at the National Finals, matched a season-high with nine strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings in a win over UNC Pembroke in the winner's bracket final of the Southeast Regional.

In his first year at Mount Olive, Levitt posted a 10-3 record with a 2.93 earned run average. He recorded 99 strikeouts in 101 1/3 innings pitched. Levitt was named to the 2011 All-Conference Carolinas Second Team. Levitt tallied seven strikeouts in eight innings in Mount Olive's first-round win over Barton in the Conference Carolinas Tournament. He also contributed nine strikeouts to a team-record 16-strikeout performance against Barton during a regular season contest.

Knox, a First Team All-American from Cary, N.C., finished second in the nation with 23 home runs in 2011. His 23rd came in the Trojans' first round win over Millersville. Knox belted a school record 24 home runs in 2010, his first year at Mount Olive. He holds the school career home run record with 47. Knox became the first player in school history to hit four home runs in a game February 26 against St. Andrews. Just 11 days earlier, he became the first-ever Trojan to hit for the cycle in a game, collecting a single, double, triple and home run against North Carolina Wesleyan.

Knox was named to the 2011 All-America First Team by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He was also selected to the 2011 Daktronics All-America Second Team. Knox, who also earned All-America First Team honors in 2010, became the first Trojan baseball player in seven years to win All-America recognition in back-to-back years.