Pro Baseball: Area graduates lead Redbirds to victory

Nick Stavinoha

Local area alums Matt Carpenter and Nick Stavinoha had big days at the plate July 19 to lead the Memphis Redbirds to a 6-5 win over the Omaha Storm Chasers.

Stavinoha, who graduated from Jersey Village High School in 2000, was 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs. Carpenter, a 2004 graduate of Elkins High School, was an amazing 5-for-6 in the contest, including two doubles and a run scored.

After leaving Jersey Village, Stavinoha made multiple stops in his college baseball career playing at the University of Houston, San Jacinto College and Louisiana State University. He spent two seasons (2004 and 2005) in Baton Rouge batting .348 with 26 home runs and 107 RBIs in 121 career games for the Bayou Bengals. In 2005 as a senior, Stavinoha was named MVP of the Baton Rouge regional of the NCAA tournament after a season in which he hit .370 with 18 home runs. He was drafted in the seventh round (230th overall) of the 2005 MLB draft by St. Louis. Stavinoha was born May 3, 1982, in Houston.

Following his high school career, Carpenter played five seasons (2005 to 2009) of college baseball as Texas Christian University, posting a career batting average of .312 with 24 home runs and 159 RBIs. Carpenter hit .349 in 241 at-bats as a sophomore (2006) before receiving a medical redshirt in 2007 after appearing in only eight games. He posted back-to-back 11 home-run seasons in 2008 and 2009, which hit also hit 23 doubles and six triples while hitting .333. Carpenter was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 13th round (399th overall) of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. He was born Nov. 26, 1985, in Sugar Land.