Ardoin drafted

[Turner]

Ardoin drafted #300 in round ten, by Detroit.

[Turbine]

Great news #31 is the 300th pick in10th round

[NewsCopy]

22 Louisiana products were drafted in the first day.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajun ace right-hander Kevin Ardoin was due for some good news.

After ending the season in a mysterious slump, the St. Edmund High product found out that at least one team wasn't thrown off by it when the Detroit Tigers selected him in the 10th round of Tuesday's amateur baseball draft.

"I'm very relieved,'' Ardoin said. "I was hoping that the past couple of weeks wouldn't make me slide too far. I talked to quite a few scouts. Some of them were worried that I was hurting, but I was never hurting. Others went on potential and told me that all pitchers have slumps.''

Ardoin was picked in the 12th round by Texas after his junior season, but elected to return for his senior season.

"I have no regrets at all,'' said Ardoin, who was 10-5 with a 3.76 ERA this past spring. "Look at what I got to experience - a conference championship.''

UL coach Tony Robichaux also was relieved by Ardoin's selection.

"I would have hated to see him slip too far, because of the message it would have sent to next year's junior who got drafted,'' Robichaux said. "To go a few rounds higher was definitely a relief. And who knows where he could have gone, if not for it (late-season slump).''

Robichaux predicted that Cajun left-hander Austin Faught would go early in day two of the draft today. Only 18 of the 50 rounds were completed on Tuesday.

Ardoin was one of 22 high school or college products from Louisiana to be drafted on the first day.

The rest of the story

[DaddyCajun]

Congrats to my favorite #31!!! Good luck in your pro career!!

Enjoyed watching you at the Tigue!

Thanks,
DaddyCajun