Former UMass Lowell pitcher Jack Leathersich (Beverly, Mass.) was recently promoted from the Low-A Savannah Sand Gnats to the High-A St. Lucie Mets. Leathersich was selected by the New York Mets in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB Draft.

Prior to his promotion, Leathersich shined in Savannah, totaling a 0.75 earned run average over 12 outings. The lefty struck out 37 batters in 24 innings.

As a River Hawk, Leathersich went 16-8 over three seasons with a 2.50 ERA—fifth lowest in program history. He tossed 216.1 innings and struck out 251 career batters—tied for third all-time at UMass Lowell.

In his junior season, Leathersich broke three program records: single season strikeouts (126), strikeouts per nine innings (12.74) and most times striking out 10 or more in a season (7).