SCC taps talented pool of junior college players

SCC Sports Information

The St. Catharine College baseball staff has been busy trying to find players to fill the holes left by graduation from a squad that went 32-25 this spring. And that effort has already led to nine signees for the 2013 season for Luther Bramblett’s Bat Pats.

“We’re excited about our class so far,” stated recruiting coordinator Terry Davis. “We’ve been able to attract some quality players to our program and we expect them to step in and compete right away.”
Six of the nine newcomers hail from California, as the Bat Pats continue a trend toward tapping the talented West Coast. Two of the signees are from Santa Ana College, who compiled a 33-9 record last season in the tough Orange Empire Conference. Bruce Tolliver went 4-1 for the Dons and had 44 strikeouts in 46 innings. Adrian Garcia, an infielder batted .284 with 14 RBI and 22 runs scored for the Dons.
Eddie Rivera, also from the Orange Empire Conference, where he played for Fullerton College, was 1-5 in 16 appearances. Rivera averaged 9.3 strikeouts a game. Also from California is southpaw Andrew Nelson, who pitched for Santa Rosa College, where he was 2-2 last season with a 2.21 ERA in 40 innings.
Rounding out the West Coast six are two players from Southwestern College, the same school for which former Bat Pat Juan Moriel played. Infielder Francisco Gonzalez batted .319 with only 10 strikeouts in 150 plate appearances. As the starting shortstop for the Jaguars, he turned in a fielding average of .954. Justin Kruse was 4-2 with a 2.27 ERA at Southwestern with 25 strikeouts and just six walks last season.
Quentin Alexander, an infielder from Chicago, will transfer to St. Catharine from St. Joseph’s College. This summer, Alexander is batting .319 with 22 runs scored for the Fulton Railroaders in the Ohio Valley Collegiate League.
Another player coming to the Bat Pats is also playing summer ball in the Ohio Valley Collegiate League. James Dyer, a native of Albany, Ky., will transfer from Wabash Valley College. He is pitching for the Marion Bobcats this summer, just seven months after Tommy John surgery.
From north of the border, the Bat Pats have signed lefty Rich Corrente from Chatham, Ontario. Corrente played at Erie Community College last season, where he compiled a 5-3 record and a 3.85 ERA. He fanned 31 batters and walked just nine in 42 innings.
“Terry Davis has done a great job finding talent across the country,” said Bramblett. “We have to continue to bring in quality transfers to compete in our league and nationally. We are excited about who we have signed to go with the core we have returning. We have addressed several needs and feel the competition level will be great during practice this fall.”