, a Phillipsburg High School graduate, and a Division II All American who just completed his career at California University of Pennsylvania, was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 23rd round of the Major League Baseball Draft. Petty became the first California player to be drafted since 1995.

Petty, a 6-foot-5 catcher and relief pitcher was chosen with the 11th pick of the 23rd round, 687th overall. The 2009 Express-Times Player of the Year was a consensus All-American and a national finalist for the Tino Martinez Award as a senior. He was selected the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Daktronics Atlantic Region Player of the Year and was the consensus All-Atlantic Region First-Team selection at catcher.

Petty was also chosen the Pennsylvania Conference West Athlete of the Year and earned All-PSAC laurels in all four seasons.

Petty ranked second in the conference and 16th in the country with a .416 batting average (74-for-178) this season. He tied for the national lead with eight triples, which was the most by a Cal U player in over 35 years, and finished with a league-best .674 slugging percentage. Petty led the PSAC and ranked 12th in the country with 37 steals.

He also finished second in the league with 49 RBI and was third with six homers, 51 runs scored and a .483 on-base percentage.

East Stroudsburg University second baseman Joe Bennie was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 28th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft on Saturday, becoming the fourth player drafted in school history.

Bennie (Stroudsburg/Stroudsburg), who led the Warriors to the PSAC championship in his only season at ESU after transferring from Division I La Salle, was the 851st pick in the draft.

He is the third Warrior to be selected in the MLB Draft in the last five years, joining outfielder Mark Angelo (2009, 44th round, Seattle) and left-handed pitcher Jeremy Gigliotti (2011, 19th round, San Diego). Pitcher Joel Bennett was ESU's first MLB Draft choice in 1991 (21st round, Boston).

He was the seventh player selected from the PSAC with 12 rounds remaining in the 40-round event. The conference record for draft choices is eight, set in 1969.

Bennie was named to the ABCA Atlantic Region first team, ABCA Atlantic Region Gold Glove team and the All-PSAC East first team. He hit .348 with a .397 on-base percentage and .513 slugging percentage, 10 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 28 RBI, a team-high 43 runs and 21 stolen bases out of the leadoff spot.

Defensively, he had a .994 fielding percentage with 98 assists, 81 putouts and just one error in 180 chances at second base. He was a three-year starter at shortstop at La Salle.

Scholastically, Bennie was a two-time Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year at Stroudsburg in 2008 and 2009 and ranks fourth in school history with 96 career hits.