June 8, 2007

A trio of George Mason baseball players were drafted on Friday in the second day of the 2007 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft as Chris Fournier, Jason Bour and J.J. Pannell were all selected between the 16th and 38th rounds.

Fournier was chosen by the New York Mets in the 16th round, Bour was picked by the Cincinnati Reds in the 23rd round and Pannell was tabbed by the San Francisco Giants in the 38th round. Only three players in Mason history have ever been drafted higher than the 16th round - Chris Widger in the third round in 1992, Mike Huller in the 14th round in 1998 and Jeff Palumbo in the 15th round in 2004.

Fournier, a redshirt junior second baseman, led the Patriots this season in batting, doubles, runs, on-base percentage and steals and was among the national leaders in home runs per game, doubles per game and runs per game. He hit .369 with 14 homers, 20 doubles, 53 RBI, 79 hits, 60 runs, a .668 slugging percentage and a .461 on-base percentage. He was 13 of 18 in steal attempts and he was named first-team All-CAA. He is currently second at Mason in career on-base percentage, fifth in career slugging percentage and 10th in career batting average. He's also among the top 25 all-time at Mason in homers, doubles and runs. Fournier played one year at Notre Dame before transferring to Mason. He played for the Patriots in 2005, earned a medical redshirt in 2006 and returned to the lineup in 2007, playing in all 54 games.

Jason Bour was selected in the 23rd round of Friday's MLB Amateur Draft by the Cincinnati Reds.

Bour, a junior catcher, was among the national leaders in home runs per game and was second on the team in batting average, doubles and slugging percentage, third on the team in hits, RBI and runs and fourth in home runs. Bour hit .366 with 13 homers, 17 doubles, 50 RBI, 74 hits and 40 runs while slugging .673. He was named first-team All-CAA and he currently is seventh all-time at Mason in career batting average and he closed 2007 with a hit in 26 of the season's final 29 games. Bour spent a season at Hampden-Sydney before transferring to Mason. He played for the Patriots in 2006, moving into the starting lineup a third of the way through the season and he played in all but one game in 2007.

Pannell, a redshirt junior pitcher, was drafted for the second-straight season. He was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 50th round of last year's draft. Pannell led the Patriots in starts, wins, innings pitched and strikeouts and was named second-team All-CAA. He made 14 appearances, all as a starter, and compiled a 7-4 mark in 91 innings with 58 strikeouts. He is top 20 all-time at Mason in wins, winning percentage, appearances, strikeouts, strikeouts per nine innings and fewest walks per nine innings.

J.J. Pannell was picked in the 38th round of Friday's MLB Amateur Draft by the San Francisco Giants.

The three players will have until Aug. 15 to sign with their respective teams, at which point the club that drafted them loses their rights and they can not sign with a major league team until after next year's draft. All have one year of eligibility remaining and can return to school if they so choose.