NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion University baseball has another Monarch making the jump to the professional level as Hunter Fitz-Gerald has signed a non-drafted free agent deal with the Seattle Mariners.
An All-Sun Belt First Team selection and a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist, Fitz-Gerald was ODU's leader in home runs (22), hits (72), RBIs (70), runs (56) and total bases (150) this past season. He owned a .316 batting average with a .658 slugging percentage and posted 22 multi-hit games, 21 multi-RBI games, and four multi-home run games. His production at the plate helped the Monarchs become the first NCAA Division I program to hit 100 home runs in three straight seasons since the start of the BBCOR era in 2011.
He earned Sun Belt Belt Player of the Week honors on Feb. 28 after hitting .444 (12-for-27) with an .889 slugging percentage and a .464 on-base percentage to help the Monarchs go 5-0 with wins over VMI, William & Mary and a series sweep of Fordham. He homered three times, doubled three times, and added eight runs, 11 RBIs, 24 total bases and one walk to his totals.
Fitz-Gerald was named to Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week list on March 6 after hitting .556 with a 1.444 slugging percentage and a .571 on-base percentage in ODU's 4-0 week against W&M and Saint Joseph's. Between the midweek game against the Tribe and the weekend series versus the Hawks, the Margate, Florida native went 10-for-18 with five home runs, one double, 13 RBIs, 11 runs, 26 total bases, two walks and one sacrifice fly. He homered, drove in multiple runs and scored at least once in all four games.
In ODU's series finale at App State on April 23, he went deep twice, drove in five runs and scored twice in a 2-for-4 day at the plate. In the following week's series final versus Texas State on April 29, he homered twice again in a 3-for-5 performance. He scored two runs and added five RBIs to help erase a 10-2 deficit and send the game to extra innings. On May 20 against Georgia State, he helped the Monarchs rally for a 7-6 win on Senior Day with a game-tying three-run blast in the sixth inning. His final game at Bud Metheny Ballpark, he finished 2-for-4 with the long ball, a double, two runs and a walk.
Fitz-Gerald Signs Non-Drafted Free Agent Deal With the Seattle Mariners
