VANCOUVER - UBC Thunderbird grad Mark Hardy, a 6-foot-4 left handed pitcher who signed with the San Diego Padres after being drafted in the 43rd round of June's MLB Amateur Draft, has been promoted to AA San Antonio for the remainder of the season.

The Campbell River, B.C. native began his pro career in rookie ball where he went 3-2 with a 3.06 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 32 innings of work. He then earned another five starts in A- with Eugene, going 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA and sitting down 28 batters.

After one start at A+ Lake Elsinore, he was promoted to AA San Antonio where he has one start under his belt. He lasted five innings, giving up four hits and two earned runs while striking out two in the no decision.

UBC Thunderbird head coach Terry McKaig was not surprised by Hardy's quick progression despite the hurdles.

"This is a huge accomplishment [getting promoted to AA] for someone who started in rookie ball this year," said the UBC skipper. "Mark's had a great summer and he has shown himself well to the organization. He went later in the draft than we would have expected but he's showing now that he definitely belongs in pro baseball."

Sammie Starr, another 2010 UBC grad who was drafted in the 34th round by the Baltimore Orioles, has also had a solid start to his pro career.

In 32 games with Aberdeen in the A- New York-Pennsylvania League, the 5-foot-8 infielder from Toronto, Ont., is batting .258 with six RBI and three doubles in 120 at-bats. Not surprisingly he's also been impressive in the field and sports a .991 fielding percentage in 21 games at second base.

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