[July 01, 2011] Marshall baseball: Sikula drafted after agonizing wait Tweet Jun 09, 2011 (Charleston Daily Mail - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Arik Sikula experienced every range of emotion Wednesday. The Marshall University pitcher was awaiting word as the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft rolled through its third and final day. He didn't sleep Tuesday night. He felt nervous and anxious early Wednesday. At times, he said, it was the worst day of his life. It ended up being the best. The Toronto Blue Jays selected the former Hurricane and South Charleston high school baseball star 36 rounds and 1,099 picks into the draft. Sikula was at a Knoxville, Tenn., gym running on a treadmill when his cell phone started to light up. "My phone stopped working right when the 36th round started," he said. "I got a text from (Marshall teammate) Aaron Blair telling me congratulations. I didn't reply to him because I didn't know what it was about. "Then I got another text from (Herd shortstop) Kenny Socorro, so I stopped the treadmill and then my sister called me." Sikula's sister passed along the news that the Blue Jays had plucked him from the player pool, but jubilation was quickly replaced with confusion when another Marshall teammate, Shane Farrell, made his call to Sikula. Farrell's father, John, is Toronto's manager. "Shane said: 'You're a Cardinal! That's awesome!'" Sikula recalled. "I told him I thought it was the Blue Jays, but he said 'no, no, no.'" Moments later a Jays scout called Sikula to confirm the news. "Honestly, this is indescribable," Sikula said. "Everybody's called me today. It's been a rollercoaster of emotions." Overall, it was a banner 48 hours for the Herd baseball program, which had a school-record eight players selected in the three-day, 50-round, 1,530-pick event. The 6-foot, 206-pound Sikula was a 2010 first-team All-Conference USA selection and finished his collegiate career fourth all-time in strikeouts at Marshall. He also finished in the top 10 in program history in appearances, innings pitched and saves. In addition to Sikula, the Blue Jays also drafted Shane Farrell in the 46th round. Other Herd players taken were left-handed reliever Greg Williams (Texas Rangers, 12th round); outfielder/catcher Rhett Stafford (Oakland A's, 22nd round); left-handed pitcher Mike Mason (Texas Rangers, 23rd round); center fielder Isaac Ballou (Pittsburgh Pirates, 36th round); reliever Joe Church (Los Angeles Angels, 40th round) and shortstop Kenny Socorro (Chicago Cubs, 44th round). Williams, Stafford and Mason were taken on Tuesday -- Day 2 of the MLB Draft. Williams, a tall left-hander who went 1-1 with a 5.82 earned run average this past season, is the highest Marshall draft pick in 29 years. The southpaw went with the 384th overall pick, and is also the only one of the eight Herd draft picks who was taken for the second time. Williams, a Cincinnati native, was a 31st-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays out of high school. At the conclusion of the draft Wednesday night, right-handed pitcher Ian Kadish became the third Herd player to go to the Blue Jays when he signed as a free agent. Kadish was Marshall's closer this past season. Sikula said he went out with family and friends to celebrate late Wednesday night. After weeks of angst, he could finally relax. Sikula's brother had planned a day of activities Wednesday to keep Sikula's mind occupied throughout the day, including golf, tennis and going to the gym. Now things get a little more serious as he embarks on a professional baseball career in the coming weeks. Sikula said he will fly to Florida on Saturday and sign a contract and likely report to Vancouver for short-season ball on June 17. Contact sportswriter Chuck McGill at [email protected] or 304-348-1712. His blog is at blogs.dailymail.com/marshall. To see more of the Khaleej Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.khaleejtimes.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Charleston Daily Mail, W.Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]