Sophomore right-handed pitcher Travis Lakins (1) delivers a pitch against Illinois on May 2, 2015. OSU lost, 6-5. Credit: Elliot Gilfix / For The Lantern

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Travis Lakins (1) delivers a pitch against Illinois on May 2, 2015. OSU lost, 6-5.
Credit: Elliot Gilfix / For The Lantern

The Ohio State baseball team may have narrowly missed out on postseason play this season, but it finally had some reason to celebrate during the second day of the 2015 MLB draft.

Right-handed pitcher Travis Lakins became the highest OSU player drafted since fellow righty Alex Wimmers went 21st overall in 2010. The Boston Red Sox selected Lakins in the sixth round — 171st overall — on Tuesday afternoon.

Lakins, a hard-throwing product of Franklin, Ohio, is coming off a sophomore season in which he went 4-4 with a 3.75 ERA in 15 starts. He struck out a team-high 84 in 96.0 innings pitched.

Lakins’ final start of the season was arguably his strongest, as he neutralized Iowa’s lineup to the tune of six hits and one run allowed over eight innings in the opening game of the Big Ten tournament. However, a blown save in the ninth following Lakins’ departure gave the Hawkeyes the 3-2 victory.

In the righty’s freshman campaign, he was used primarily out of the bullpen, where he made 23 of his 25 appearances. In 55.0 innings of work, he fanned 55 batters and compiled a 2.45 ERA, the second best on the team.

He later made headlines after his freshman season when he threw a perfect game on June 20, 2014 while pitching for the Chillicothe Paints in summer ball. He struck out 14 in the perfect game against the West Virginia Miners, which was the first in the history of the Prospect League.

Should Lakins choose to sign with Boston, the slot value for the 171st pick is $287,500, according to Baseball America. He was previously set to play for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod League this summer alongside outfielder Ronnie Dawson.

The 2015 draft marked the fourth consecutive year at least one OSU player was drafted, following John Kuchno in 2012, Jon Pellant, Brett McKinney and Brad Goldberg in 2013 and Greg Greve last season.

The MLB draft is scheduled to conclude with the 11th through 40th rounds on Wednesday.