M’s late pick opts for college

Michael Sexton was watching Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft on his smartphone when he saw his name pop up on the screen.

The Seattle Mariners selected Sexton, who earned South Puget Sound League South first-team all-league honors this spring as an infielder, the 38th round, No. 1,137 overall.

“It was pretty sweet,” said Sexton, who graduated from Rogers (Puyallup) High School in June. “After I saw my name on the screen, I got a call about 30 seconds later from the Mariners organization. It was just surreal.”

While Sexton basked in the glory of the moment, he decided to stick with his commitment to Lewis-Clark State College and its baseball program. Sexton could have opted to go the minor-league route with the Mariners but chose instead to fine-tune his skills in college.

“It was a tough decision, but I’m very happy about having the chance to play baseball at Lewis-Clarke State,” Sexton said. “I like Lewis-Clarke State’s reputation for having hard-nosed players. That is the kind of place where I want to be.”

Sexton said he’s looking forward to living the lifestyle of a college baseball player. With the exception of schoolwork, he plans to commit every moment to getting better on the diamond.

“I’m pretty excited about college baseball,” he said. “That will be everything I’m focused on.”