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The life-chaging call for Chris Heisey came Tuesday night. Greg Nesbitt and Ted Serro received theirs Wednesday afternoon. The calls informed each of the Lancaster County products that they had been selected in the 2006 Major League draft, thus fulfilling the lifelong dream of any ball player. Heisey, a Donegal grad, was picked by the Cincinnati Reds, while Nesbitt, a Solanco grad, was taken by the Seattle Mariners and Serro, a recent F&M grad, was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. Heisey, an outfielder, was selected Tuesday evening in the 17th round "I feel blessed to have the opportunity," said Heisey, who just wrapped up his junior season at Messiah College. "You grow up dreaming about this, so it's a dream come true for me." The 504th pick overall, Heisey nearly missed the long-awaited pick. He was getting ready to go see his sister Katie graduate from Donegal. His family members had already left the house. But then the call came in. "The waiting kind of got old after a while," admitted Heisey, a 2003 Donegal grad. "As rounds started to go by, I began to wonder if it was really going to happen on the first day or not. That's all I was hoping for, to get picked on the first day." This spring, Heisey was named the Commonwealth Conference MVP when he batted .428, hit five homers and drove in 33 runs. The 2005 All-American led the Falcons (17-23) in runs scored (41), doubles (16) and stolen bases (21). He holds the Messiah record for homers in a season and career as well as hits in a season. He had been to pre-draft workouts for Cincy, the Mets and the Nationals. "I knew they were most interested in me," Heisey said of the Reds. Sunday morning, Heisey will board a plane headed for a mini-camp in Sarasota, Fla. He could either stay there for rookie ball or head to a rookie league in Montana. Nesbitt, a pitcher, was taken in the 29th round by the Mariners. The left-hander just completed his senior season at James Madison with a 6-3 record and a 3.54 ERA. In 13 starts, Newbitt threw two complete games and tossed a shutout. He struck out 80 batters, while walking just 22 in 81-plus innings. In his career, Nesbitt went 12-10 with a 4.69 ERA and struck out 164, while walking 47 in nearly 198 innings. Nesbitt helped the Dukes go 38-21 this spring and claim first place in the Colonial Athletic Association. He could not be reached Wednesday night for comment. Serro became the second F&M player to be drafted (Jeff Rineer by the Orioles in 1975) when the Blue Jays selected him in the 40th round with the 1200th overall pick. "I was nervous all day, just sitting around watching and waiting," the 21-year-old said Wednesday afternoon from his New York home. "My eyes were glued to the computer all afternoon and when my named popped up, I just started screaming." Serro worked out for the Blue Jays two weeks ago and felt they presented his best chance at being drafted, although there was also interest from the Orioles and Devil Rays. "I'm so excited," Serro said. "I wasn't expecting it to be this late, but just getting drafted is an accomplishment." Workout aside, Serro's 2006 numbers speak for themselves. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division III Mid-Atlantic Pitcher of the Year was 8-3 for the Centennial Conference champion Diplomats (29-11) with a 1.48 ERA in 11 appearances. The righty struck out 79 batters and walked 19 while holding opposing hitters to a .191 batting average. He leaves F&M as the all-time wins leader with 20. "It's a great feeling," said Serro, who graduated in May with a degree in Business, Organizations and Society. "I'm just glad to be getting the chance to play pro ball." The 6-4, 205-pound Serro leaves Saturday for a mini-camp in Florida. From there, he will be assigned to either the Class A Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays of the New York-Penn League or the Rookie League Pulaski (Va.) Blue Jays of the Appalachian League.
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