It was only a matter of time before a standout on Lamar’s baseball team would be drafted by a Major League Baseball team.

Turns out, a second Lamar player and recent Port Neches-Groves graduate have been drafted.

Lamar pitcher Will Hibbs broke through in the draft, as the Philadelphia Phillies picked him in the 19^th round on Saturday. Minutes later, the Houston Astros selected teammate Stijn van der Meer in the 34^th round.

Carter Henry of PNG became the 40^th-round pick of the Boston Red Sox, but he said Saturday he will still attend the University of Houston on a baseball scholarship.

“That was pretty cool,” Henry said after getting a call from the Red Sox scout. “Being drafted has always been a dream. I really never thought this would happen.”

Henry went 5-2 his senior year and helped guide the Indians to a second straight District 22-5A championship. He pitched 57 2/3 innings and carried a 1.21 ERA with 88 strikeouts and 29 walks.

The Indians were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by Santa Fe. Henry was named co-MVP of District 22-5A along with Baylor signee and PNG teammate Ryan Leckich.

Hibbs closed out a strong senior season for the Cardinals, whose 35 wins were a 14-game improvement from 2015. He won first-team All-Southland Conference honors and finished 9-3 with a 3.27 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 96 1/3 innings. For his career, Hibbs was 17-7 with 199 strikeouts.

Hibbs also was selected April Pitcher of the Month by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for going 5-0 and posting a 1.75 ERA that month. That record was part of a personal seven-game winning streak.

Van der Meer reeled off the second-longest hitting streak in Lamar history this season at 24 games. The Netherlands native batted .363 for his two-year Lamar career, ranking third all-time at the university. He went .376 this season with 80 hits, 20 runs batted in and 44 runs scored.

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Gabriel Pruett contributed to the article.

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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews