The Niagara Metros welcome back lefthanded pitcher Chris Magarian for the 2013 season.  The 25 year-old lefty has put together a very nice pitching resume over the last 5 seasons, and will once again make his mark in the Metros' very formidible bullpen.  Chris established himself in the C.O.M.B.L. as a rookie in 2009, posting a 2-2 record and a 3.54 ERA.  The control-type lefty showed exactly that...as he walked a mere 5 batters in his 28 innings! The following year, "Mags" established himself as a staff workhorse, leading the Metros with 15 appearances, and posting 3 wins and a save with an outstanding 2.25 ERA. In 2011, Chris tried his hand at Professional ball, and put together a phenomenal season, as the "ace" of the Vienna Wanderers of the Austrian Elite League.  He tossed 88.2 innings (3rd in league) and won a league-leading 9 games, while posting an ERA of 2.23 in the European Pro League.  Last season, after getting a late return to Niagara from Europe, Chris got off to a slow start...but by July he started to post the numbers that the team had come to expect. For the record, his 2012 season saw a 4.09 ERA over 33 innings, with a win and a save.  The native of St. Catharines learned his craft in the St. Catharines Minor Baseball system, and during his early years Chris was named to a number of Niagara District All-Star teams. In his final year of midget, he joined the respected Canadian Thunderbirds program out of Hamilton, where he was named the Thunderbirds' M.V.P. in 2005, and garnered the attention of many college scouts south of the border. The next season he signed with the Erie (Community College of Buffalo, N.Y.) Kats, of the NJCAA, where he starred for two seasons. He pitched so well, in fact, that Clarke College, an N.A.I.A. club based in Dubuque Iowa, signed him to finish his collegiate career with them.  Chris, over his two seasons there, proved to be "as advertised"...leading the team in 6 pitching categories.  The Metros are hoping that Chris Magarian can pick up where he left off last season, and give the team yet another reliable pitching option in 2013.

.