COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Three former Tennessee Tech baseball players
continue their baseball careers in the minor leagues, and each of
them put together impressive campaigns in 2009.
Ryan Dennick played a major role for the Golden Eagles in their
path to an Ohio Valley Conference championship in 2009, which drew
the attention of Major League Baseball scouts. A few weeks later
the Kansas City Royals drafted Dennick in the 22nd round of the MLB
draft.
Dennick, a left-handed pitcher who spent most of the season with
the Burlington Royals of the Appalachian League, put up impressive
numbers primarily out of the bullpen in Burlington. In 14
appearances, 13 in relief, Dennick threw 33.1 innings with a 2.43
ERA and a .221 opponents batting average. In that time he struck
out 34 batters while allowing only 11 walks. At the beginning of
September Dennick began a three-game stint with the Idaho Falls
Chukars of the Rookie Pioneer League.
"Strikeout-to-walk ratio is an important statistic that clubs will
look at," Tech baseball coach Matt Bragga said. "Anytime you've got
a 2-to-1 ratio in that category, that's very impressive, so for him
to be over 3-to-1 is fantastic."
Dennick's path to the pro's is somewhat of an unusual one. He began
2009 as Tech's top left-handed reliever. But as the season wore on,
the injury bug took its toll on the Golden Eagles, and Dennick was
put into a starting role. He shined in his new-found role, and
finished the season second on the team in ERA, strikeouts,
opponent's batting average and strikeouts.
"When he was in that role later in the year and excelled, that only
helped his stock," Bragga said. "Being in the NCAA tournament
really helped, and people really got a chance to see him and they
were impressed."
"I went from coming out of the bullpen at Tech, to a starting role,
to winning games in the OVC tournament, to pitching against Clemson
in the NCAA tournament, and now pitching professionally," Dennick
said. "It's been a great ride. Getting paid to play baseball is a
dream come true."
In addition to Dennick, former Golden Eagles Bubbie Buzachero and
Casey Benjamin both had successful seasons in triple-A baseball in
2009, and are one step away from the Major Leagues.
Buzachero, a right-handed pitcher who was born in Livingston,
Tenn., finished the 2009 season with the Las Vegas 51's, an
affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Throughout the course of the
season Buzachero posted a 5-4 record with a 2.49 ERA. He struck out
56 batters and allowed just 14 walks while opponents hit just .184
against him.
Buzachero was drafted in the 23rd round of the 2002 MLB draft by
Toronto and has been working his way up the minor league baseball
ranks ever since.
Benjamin finished his second season of triple-A baseball with the
Oklahoma City Red Hawks, an affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
Benjamin hit .231 in 93 games with the Red Hawks, finishing with 69
hits, including 12 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 32
RBIs.
Benjamin saved his best for last, as he went 4-for-5 in the season
finale against Memphis, and had a home run and three RBIs to cap
Oklahoma City's come-from-behind win.
"It's exciting to have guys in triple-A because they're so close to
the big-leagues," Bragga said. "They're just a trade or an injury
away from getting called up."
With Dennick's signing with the Kansas City Royals, it marks the
third consecutive year a member of the Golden Eagle baseball team
has signed a professional contract. Pitcher Zac Cole signed with
the Baltimore Orioles in 2007 and Jake New signed with the Dodgers
in 2008 before Dennick in 2009.
"We're making it a tradition to send guys to the next level year-in
and year-out," Bragga said. "We expect that to turn into two or
three guys every year at this program. We want every guy in that
locker room to have the dream of playing professional baseball, and
we want them to succeed at the next level."
June 28, 2010
Building a Tradition of Excellence
June 20, 2010
A.J. and Chad: Tech's Outstanding Male Athletes for 2010
June 18, 2010
Golden Eagle sluggers earn a couple more
June 4, 2010
Tech's David Mays inducted into OVC Hall of Fame
May 17, 2010
Oberacker owns the votes for OVC Player of the Week
May 16, 2010
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May 6, 2010
Golden Eagles and Govs face off at Tech
May 1, 2010
Entire series washed out at Eastern Kentucky
April 28, 2010
Golden Eagles eye sweep of ETSU on the road Wednesday night
April 25, 2010
Five home runs lift Tech to OVC sweep, third place in OVC
April 24, 2010
Tech vs. Morehead Series Delayed Due to Rain
April 23, 2010
Start time moves up to 11 a.m. against Morehead State
April 20, 2010
MTSU snaps Techs five-game winning streak, 11-5
April 13, 2010
Golden Eagles complete season sweep over Belmont, 15-3
April 10, 2010
Golden Eagles drop pair of tight OVC contests at SEMO
April 7, 2010
Oberacker slams Tech to 12-8 victory over Lipscomb
April 6, 2010
Patience and power pay off as Tech tops Lipscomb, 15-14
March 27, 2010
Golden Eagles felled twice by SIUE Cougars Saturday
March 20, 2010
Memphis wins 6-1 over Tennessee Tech
March 16, 2010
Golden Eagle baseball team faces two in-state foes
March 14, 2010
Tech tops Buffalo in series finale
March 13, 2010
Golden Eagles split Saturday double-header with Buffalo
March 10, 2010
Golden Eagles snap skid with 14-13 win over South Alabama
March 9, 2010
Golden Eagles visit South Alabama for a pair
March 3, 2010
Early Vandy lead holds up, Tech falls 10-1 to Commodores
March 2, 2010
Golden Eagles visit No. 30 Vanderbilt
February 28, 2010
Golden Eagles clinch series with dominating win over Cleveland State
February 27, 2010
Seventh inning rally leads Tech to 10-8 victory
February 26, 2010
Tech pitchers fan 16 but fall 7-2 in home opener
February 26, 2010
Tech's A.J. Kirby-Jones featured on PingBaseball.com
February 25, 2010
Schedule changes announced for Saturday's action
February 24, 2010
Tech set for home opener against Cleveland State
February 20, 2010
Georgia Southern out-lasts Golden Eagles
February 19, 2010
Golden Eagles win season opener at Georgia Southern
February 18, 2010
Outstanding TTU Alumni include two athletes, one supporter
February 17, 2010
Golden Eagles begin championship defense this weekend
February 4, 2010
Golden Eagle baseball camp canceled Saturday
January 22, 2010
Long-time TTU supporter Howell Bush passes away at age 94
January 19, 2010
Tech's Bragga honored as TBCA Coach of the Year
January 18, 2010
Baseball team to face new and traditional rivals, 24 OVC games
December 17, 2009
Former Golden Eagle pitcher Erik Sabel coaching at Visalia