Florida pitcher Greg Larson and outfielder Daniel Pigott recently signed professional contracts.
Larson, selected by the
Boston Red Sox in the 20th round with the 631st selection in June's
Major League Baseball Draft, has been assigned to the Lowell Spinners of
the New York-Penn League, the organization's Class A short-season
affiliate.
In a team-high
35 appearances as a senior, including two starts, Larson was 6-0 with a
team-low 1.33 earned run average. The righty totaled 38 strikeouts and
permitted 12 walks in 54.1 innings of work and limited opponents to a
.204 batting average. Larson finished with122 career appearances, second
all-time at Florida behind Connor Falkenbach (124, 2002-05).
Named to the 2012 SEC Baseball Community Service Team for the
second-straight year, Larson was a member of Florida's Student-Athlete
Advisory Committee and participated with Goodwill Gators by visiting
children at Shands Hospital and in area schools. He also assisted with
the “Miracle on Main Street” events, helping to provide Christmas gifts
to more than 300 families and has worked as a counselor at several
baseball camps, working with youngsters aged 5-18. Florida's male
nominee for the SEC's H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate
Scholarship, Larson is active in Athletes in Action and the Fellowship
of Christian Athletes.
As
a junior, Larson was selected in the 29th round by the Los Angeles
Angels of Anaheim with the 885th choice but elected to return to school.
He ranked third on the Gators with 33 appearances last season and was
1-1 with a 2.09 ERA. The righty played a role in four of the team's
school-record 11 shutouts, struck out 30 batters and permitted seven
walks in 38.2 innings. Larson compiled a 0.66 ERA and was 1-0 in 11 SEC
appearances totaling 13.2 innings. He and Steven Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.)
tied the school's postseason record for appearances in a series with
four at the 2011 NCAA College World Series.
Over his four-year tenure, Larson compiled a record of 13-4 (.765) and
registered a 2.91 ERA in 122 appearances and five starts. He registered
115 strikeouts and allowed 41 walks in 160.2 innings. Larson's 17
appearances in the NCAA Tournament are the most by a Gator pitcher.
Pigott, taken in the ninth round with the 292nd overall pick by the
Cincinnati Reds, batted .318 with career highs in runs (49), RBI (41),
walks (23) and homers (8) this season. He will be playing for Billings
(Mont.) Mustangs in the Pioneer League.
UF's starting center fielder was third on the team in batting average
and was 12-of-17 on stolen bases. He collected 13 doubles, totaled six
sacrifice flies and six sacrifice hits and was second on the squad with
81 hits. In SEC play, Pigott hit .309 with 22 runs, 19 RBI and six
round-trippers.
Pigott
enjoyed a tremendous junior season, ranking second on the club in both
batting average (.331) and doubles (21). He also scored 44 runs, totaled
40 RBI and was a team-best 15-for-19 on the basepaths. Pigott totaled
23 multiple-hit games and 10 multiple-RBI outings, batted .389
(21-for-54) with 16 runs and 10 RBI in Florida's 16 postseason games and
was 14-for-42 (.333) in 11 NCAA contests.
Pigott delivered a .500 (5-for-10) performance in the Gainesville Super
Regional, highlighted by a pair of homers in the decisive game three
against Mississippi State. He went a perfect 3-for-3 in the finale, with
a two-run homer in the second and a solo shot in the eighth. In
addition, he was chosen to the Gainesville Regional All-Tourney Team
with a .357 (5-for-14) average, four RBI and three runs. Pigott was
tabbed the Most Valuable Player of the 2011 SEC Tourney after going
7-for-12 (.583) in four games with six runs and six stolen bases in six
attempts in helping the Gators to their first crown in 20 years.
In 243 games played during his Gator career, fourth on the school's
all-time list, Pigott hit .310 with 146 runs, 124 RBI, 58 walks, 50
doubles, 35 stolen bases (in 51 attempts), 17 homers and five triples.
He added 26 sacrifice hits and 14 sacrifice flies and recorded a
fielding percentage of .975.
