June 9, 2007

Rome, Ga. - Cliff Flagello, ace for the Shorter College Hawks baseball team, was selected today by the Baltimore Orioles in the 25th round of the Major League Baseball 2007 Draft, the 759th pick overall.

Flagello came to Shorter during the 2004-05 season after transferring from Georgia State University. During his career at Shorter, he was instrumental for the Hawks in their attempts at the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) title. In the 2006-07 season, Flagello was 8-5 with a 2.87 ERA, striking out 97 batters in 87.2 innings, allowing batters to hit .205. He was named First Team All-Conference, SSAC All-Academic, and a National Scholar-Athlete.

He graduated from Armuchee High School in Armuchee, Ga., in 2003. In his senior year, he went 8-4 with four saves and currently holds the all-time school record for most strikeouts in a season (120).