LINCOLN — Three-time All-Big Ten infielder Pat Kelly is returning to his collegiate stomping grounds at Haymarket Park. The Saltdogs signed the former Nebraska standout Tuesday, headlining a key group of recent acquisitions for the 2016 season.
The 23-year old from Red Wing, Minn. ranks 20th on the Huskers all-time hits list with 212 and earned All-Big Ten First Team honors in 2013 and 2014.
Kelly was selected in the 12th round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins following his junior season at NU. Last year he hit .220 with 13 doubles, three home runs and 30 RBI in 95 games for Minnesota’s Single-A affiliate in Cedar Rapids.
The Saltdogs also inked right-handed pitchers Matt Shepherd and Shane Street on Tuesday.
Shepherd spent his first four seasons in the San Diego Padres organization. The 25-year old from Bluff City, Tenn. went 18-18 with a 4.77 ERA, racking up 316 strikeouts in 335 2/3 innings.
Street is 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA in two seasons in the independent ranks. The 25-year old from Spring Arbor (Mich.) University fanned 12.2 batters per nine innings last season for Southern Illinois in the Frontier League.
Street was acquired by the Saltdogs in a trade with Washington (Frontier) in December.
Lincoln further bolstered its staff by adding a pair of left-handed hurlers in Bennett Parry and Will Mathis.
Parry owns a 2.71 ERA with nearly one strikeout per inning after spending five seasons in the Baltimore Orioles organization. The 6-foot-6 San Diego native was drafted by the O’s out of Cal State Northridge in 2011.
Mathis played three seasons in the Seattle Mariners system after being drafted out of the University of New Mexico. The 25-year old southpaw went 4-2 with a 3.23 ERA over 83 2/3 innings in the hitter-friendly California League last year.