Matt Hague, a former Kentwood High School star, has made the Major League Baseball roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Hague, 26, a 2004 Kentwood graduate, hit his seventh home run of spring training on Sunday to give him 15 hits in his last 37 at-bats, including six home runs. He batted .400 in 25 spring games.
The rookie, reserve first baseman cracked the opening-day roster set on Wednesday, according to MLB.com. The Pirates open the season Thursday, April 5.
Hague, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall and 225 pounds, was named the Indianapolis Indians Most Valuable Player last year. He batted .309 with 12 homers and 75 RBIs with the Triple-A club of the Pirates.
Pittsburgh drafted Hague in the ninth round of the 2008 draft out of Oklahoma State University.
Hague is the first Kentwood graduate to make a Major League Baseball roster.
The school has produced five other professional athletes, including Rodney Stuckey, NBA; Courtney Vandersloot, WNBA; Ernie Conwell and Mike Karney, NFL; and Cam Weaver, Major League Soccer.
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