June 5, 2001
San Diego - San Diego State left-hander Marcos Mendoza led a group of four Aztec baseball players selected on the first day of the 2001 pro draft. The junior from Santee was selected in the fifth round by the Cleveland Indians.
Other Aztecs drafted included junior outfielder Sean Pierce (Los Angeles Dodgers - 9th round) and a pair of senior left-handed pitchers: Ben Julianel (St. Louis Cardinals - 12th round) and Mike Garber (Arizona Diamondbacks - 18th round).
Mendoza finished the season with a record of 7-6 and a 3.84 earned run average. He walked only 34 in 91.1 innings, and his total of 118 strikeouts is the second-most ever in a season by an Aztec hurler. . The highlight of his 2001 campaign was a complete-game 17-strikeout performance against New Mexico on April 20.
Pierce, who also played four seasons for the SDSU football team as a wide receiver, hit .350 and led the team in home runs with six. He was second on the squad in triples with three and also had 10 stolen bases.
Julianel completed his final season at San Diego State with a mark of 5-5 and a 5.00 earned run average. Over the final five weeks of his senior campaign, he posted a 4-0 record with a 1.55 ERA. Julianel finished with a complete-game shutout win over Air Force at the Mountain West Conference Tournament in which he struck out a career-best 16 batters.
Garber, a four-year letterwinner at SDSU, went 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA, making 22 appearances including one start. Opponents hit just .230 against him this season.
Twenty of the draft's 50 rounds were completed on Tuesday. Selections resume on Wednesday at noon (EST) and will continue through 6:00 p.m. (EST).