Drew George, a 2003 graduate of Lebanon High School, has been picked up by the Chillicothe (Ohio) Paints. The Paints are a member of an independent professional baseball league, the Frontier League.

George recently finished his collegiate baseball career at Oregon State University, where he played for two years and was a member of the Beavers' 2007 national championship squad.

Chillicothe is about 45 miles south of Columbus. The Frontier League, which was formed in 1993, is a Single-A league that includes 12 teams from around the Midwest. Chillicothe alumni include former San Diego Padres pitcher Brian Tollberg and Mike Cervenak of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Paints are currently 29-38, fifth in the eastern division.

To find out more about the Paints, visit www.chillicothepaints.com.

George was notified of his selection on July 30 and left for Ohio on Aug. 1. He'll participate in the remainder of the Paints' season, which ends in September, before returning to OSU to finish school with a degree in Social Studies and work as an assistant infielder coach.

As of Aug. 3, George was batting .500 over two games for the Paints, with one run and four hits in eight at-bats. He was 2-for-3 with one run in his first outing with the Paints, a 6-1 loss to Southern Illinois. On Aug. 3, he was 2-for-5 with two doubles as the Paints fell 13-4 to Southern Illinois.

Prior to OSU, George attended Lower Columbia Community College in Washington, where he was twice selected for all-Northwest honors and was named MVP of the division his sophomore year. While attending LCCC, he was drafted by the White Sox, but declined the offer to pursue his dream of playing Division I baseball.

In two seasons at OSU, George played in 94 games and started 81. He hit four home runs, had 44 RBI, 18 doubles and three triples. For the 2008 season, his batting average of .322 was the sixth-best on the team. He was named to the all-tournament team and was nominated for Pac-10 player of the week after a performance at the Aztec Invitational that included two home runs.

He played for the Bend Elks, a member of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League, in the summer of 2007.

George is the son of Rick and Deb George of Lebanon.