Former Pendleton Heights pitcher Chayce McDermott, a fourth-round draft choice of the Houston Astros last month, had a successful professional debut on Friday.
McDermott, who played three seasons at Ball State University, pitched for the Astros Rookie League team FCL (Florida Complex League) Astros and went three innings giving up only one hit, one walk, while striking out seven. He faced 11 batters.
The former Arabian threw innings 5-7 in a 1-0 eight-inning loss to FCL Mets.
The Astros were apparently impressed. McDermott is now listed on the Astros’ Class Low-A affiliate’s roster, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, located in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The 6-3, 197-pound right-hander was selected No. 132 overall by the Astros.
At Pendleton Heights, McDermott lettered three seasons. He was a two-time All-Hoosier Heartland Conference selection and led the Arabians to a 19-6 record during his senior season. In 2017, he went 4-3 with a 2.29 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched. McDermott was part of two sectional championship teams and one conference championship.
In his 2021 season at Ball State, McDermott ranked No. 5 in the nation in strikeouts with 125 and was No. 13 in strikeouts per nine innings at 13.61.
In 15 starts for BSU, McDermott threw 82.2 innings and went 8-2 with a 3.05 earned run average. He had two complete games and hitters batted just .204 against him.
