ARKADELPHIA — Former Henderson State pitcher Chris Hunt continued his climb up the ranks of the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league system on Saturday when he was assigned to the Single-A Peoria Chiefs to begin the 2019 season.

Hunt, who spent two seasons of rookie ball with the Gulf Coast Cardinals and Johnson City Cardinals, has a 6-3 record and 3.52 ERA in nine career minor league starts. He is one of just 13 pitchers on the opening day roster for the Chiefs.

A 39th round pick by St. Louis in the 2017 draft, Hunt was a standout on the hill for the Reddies from 2014-17. He is Henderson’s all-time leader in innings pitched (314), is second in career strikeouts (226) and third in wins (21). Hunt threw the eighth no-hitter in program history as a junior during the 2016 Great American Conference Tournament against Southeastern Oklahoma State.

Peoria, who plays in the Midwest League, has a rich history of producing major league players since its inception in 1983. Among famous Chiefs alumni are Greg Maddux, Ryne Sandberg, Albert Pujols, Kerry Wood, Nomar Garciaparra, Joe Maddon, Joe Girardi and Yadier Molina.

The Chiefs begin their season on Thursday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 6:35 p.m.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have selected Henderson State’s Chris Hunt in the 39^th round of the Major League Baseball Draft.

Hunt becomes the first Reddie to be drafted since Jonathan Dooley was selected in the 26^th round by the Kansas City Royals in 2010.

During Hunt’s four-year career at Henderson, the right-handed pitcher recorded 21 wins to go along with 226 strikeouts, second all-time in HSU history.

This past season, the Greenwood, Ark. Native finished with a 7-5 record including a win over nationally-ranked Southern Arkansas in the Great American Conference Tournament.

In 2016 Hunt earned GAC All-Tournament honors after pitching a complete-game no-hitter in the GAC Tournament against Southeastern Oklahoma.

A year earlier he was part of a Reddie pitching staff that led Henderson to the 2015 Division II National Championships in Cary. N.C.

Hunt pitched 7.0 innings and struck out four batters in a 4-2 win against Emporia State at the NCAA Central Regional and earned Honorable Mention All-GAC honors that same season.

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