FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton starting catcher Chad Wallach and first baseman Carlos Lopez were each selected by the Miami Marlins on the second day of the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Friday.
Wallach was a fifth-round draft pick (142 overall) of the Miami Marlins. Fullerton's starting catcher for the majority of the season entered Super Regional play batting .303, driving in 32 RBIs with 47 hits, 13 doubles, one triple and two home runs.
In his third year at Fullerton, Wallach has totaled 10 multiple-hit games in 2013, as well as seven multiple-RBI games. He has also driven in the game-winning run on two occasions.
Wallach is the third in his family tree to be drafted out of Cal State Fullerton, as his father, Tim Wallach, was selected by the Montreal Expos as the 10th overall selection in the 1979 MLB Draft. Chad's brother, Matt, was selected in the 22nd round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lopez was selected in the 10th round by the Marlins (292 overall). The native of Northridge, Calif., is currently one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.
Lopez played a massive role in the sweep that clinched the Titans their 27th conference championship and the Big West's automatic NCAA Tournament berth, hitting back-to-back walk-off home runs in a series sweep of UC Irvine.
Lopez was named the Big West co-Field Player of the Year and received first-team all-league honors for the second consecutive year.
The Titans' starting first baseman leads the Fullerton in several offensive categories this season including; batting average (.335), runs scored (51), hits (76), and stolen bases (15). In addition, Lopez has totaled 11 doubles, three triples and four home runs while driving in 34 runs.
The Titans have now had three players selected in the 2013 MLB Draft as Michael Lorenzen was taken as the 38th overall pick by the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.
The final day of the draft is scheduled for Saturday and will start at 10 a.m. PT, covering rounds 11-40.