Mac Lardner and Nick Trogrlic-Iverson both signed with Gonzaga for college and now one MLB team has signed them to start their professional careers.
TheSt. Louis Cardinals signed both of these Zags on Sunday and Monday Lardner signed first.
"I've been in contact with them for a year and a half now," Lardner said."I felt really good about their organization and I felt they liked me. It finally happened, they finally contacted me and it was a breath of fresh air really. It was a big relief, I wouldn't want to go to any other team."
Trogrlic-Iverson signed on Monday.
"It was incredible to be contacted by a team with a great fan base and the classiness of the Cardinals," he said. "It was amazing and I'm just excited to get the chance to play pro ball really."
Voila, just like that they were signed by the same team.
"I didn't even know," Lardner said. "Ivy didn't text me. I didn't know they were talking to him or anything. I was just scrolling on Twitter this morning and saw Gonzaga baseball posted he signed with them. I was like, "What?' I was blown away."
Trogrlic-Iverson was thrilled when he realized it.
"When I got the call from the Cardinals I was like oh this is perfect," he said.
These two haven't just played in college together. They were on the same Cape Cod Baseball League this past summer. These two just can't shake one another.
The two now enter the pros in a time where there is a lot of uncertainty about the MiLB's future due to finances. It's a likely possibility they won't get to put on a uniform any time soon. Both said it;s comforting knowing they have a teammate from college in the same pro team's farm system going through the same challenges.
"There's a lot of changes that I'm sure are going to happen," Lardner said. "To have somebody you're comfortable with and can rely on it's going to be a huge benefit."