MONTGOMERY, Ala.-Allen Ponder was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 50th round of the Major League Baseball draft.
Ponder was a two-time all-conference selection for the Senators, and this year was a two-way star as he played both at first base and as a pitcher.
Ponder hit .349 and led the Senators in home runs (18) and RBI (75). He also had 16 doubles to go along with his triple and had 82 hits and scored 52 runs.
His defensive play was stellar, committing only one error in 645 chances for a .998 fielding percentage. He won the Southern States Athletic Conference Gold Glove award at first base.
It was on the mound where the Pirates see Ponder on the next level. He finished the season with an 8-1 record and recorded a team-high six saves. He pitched 48 innings and allowed only 11 earned runs and had 68 strikeouts with an earned run average of 2.06. The opposition only hit .201 off him.