Baseball has always had its own gravitational pull in the life of 2007 MCHS graduate Zach Petrick, so on June 6, upon completion of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, it was a shock to the system when Petrick hadn’t heard his name called.

Petrick’s brother Billy was a third-round selection of the Chicago Cubs in 2002 and after a stellar career at Morris and two fine seasons apiece at JJC and the University of Northwestern Ohio, Zach had hoped to follow in his brother’s footsteps.

“I wasn’t expecting to be a high draft pick, so I was just sitting there the first couple days,” Petrick said. “That last day I was expecting a phone call because I had heard some rumors that I would be picked up, but I wasn’t sure by who. So when I didn’t get the call that was a really hard day.”