Scott Savastano to Open 2010 Season With High Desert Mavericks

Former Franklin Pierce infielder headed to Class A Advanced California League

High Desert Mavericks Website
California League Website
Seattle Mariners Website

RINDGE, N.H. (April 7, 2010) – Infielder Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass.), who played for the Franklin Pierce University baseball team from 2006 through 2008, has been assigned to the High Desert Mavericks, the Single-A Advanced, California League affiliate of the Seattle Mariners to start the 2010 season, as announced Monday by the Mavericks.

Savastano was drafted in the 28th round (852 overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Mariners. He made his professional debut in 2008 and saw action at three different levels, primarily at the rookie level with the AZL Mariners, where he hit .298 over 26 games. He also received four at-bats with the Tacoma Rainiers, Seattle's Triple-A, Pacific Coast League affiliate. Savastano is the only former Franklin Pierce player to appear at the Triple-A level.

Last season was Savastano's first full professional season, as he played 112 games with the Clinton LumberKings of the Single-A Midwest League. He hit .300 (124-for-413) with 15 doubles, five triples and six home runs, drove in 53 runs and scored 67 times. Savastano drew 56 walks on his way to a .390 on-base percentage to go with a .404 slugging percentage. In June, he was selected to represent the Eastern Division in the Midwest League All-Star Game, where he went 1-for-2 with a single.

Heading into 2010, Savastano has hit an even .300 (154-for-514) in 141 minor league games over two seasons. He has hit 19 doubles, seven triples and seven home runs, driven home 68 runs and scored 80 times. He has a .387 career on-base percentage to go with a .405 slugging percentage and has stolen 16 bases in 21 attempts.

Over three seasons at Franklin Pierce, Savastano hit .388 (189-for-487) with 36 doubles, eight triples and 14 home runs, drove in 96 runs and scored 122 times. In three seasons as a student-athlete, he slugged .581, posted a .471 on-base percentage and stole 31 bases in 40 attempts.

In his final season in Rindge, his junior campaign in 2008, Savastano was an American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-America Second Team selection and also picked up All-America Third Team accolades from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He was an All-Northeast Region First Team selection by both of those organizations, as well as Daktronics. Savastano also collected All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team honors.

Savastano was an impact player from his first days on campus, as he collected an All-Northeast Region Second Team selection from the NCBWA as a freshman in 2007, in addition to Freshman of the Year and All-Conference Second Team honors from the Northeast-10 Conference.

The California League is a Class A Advanced league, featuring a 140-game schedule, split in to two, 70-game halves, the first of which wraps up near the end of June. Last season, High Desert went 43-27 in the first half and 40-30 in the second half, claiming the South Division title in each half of the season. The Mavericks then won their semifinal series before being swept by the San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants affiliate) in the Midwest League Championship Series.