CLINTON, S.C. – Though the 2011 Presbyterian College
baseball season has come to an end, members of the Blue Hose continue to put in
work in batter's boxes and pitcher's mounds—sometimes facing each other—while
playing in various summer wooden-bat leagues around the East Coast.
More than a dozen PC players play on summer teams that span
from New York to South Carolina, with many serving key roles on their
respective squads midway through the summer.
AT THE PLATE
Brad Zebedis (Rock Hill, S.C.) picked up where he left off
after a record-setting season with the Blue Hose, leading the Strasburg (Va.)
Express of the Valley Baseball League in several categories and taking the
league's North Division Player of the Week award on June 13. Zebedis currently holds
the team lead in batting average (.443), hits (35), doubles (10), runs batted
in (14), total bases (48), slugging percentage and on-base percentage (.510)
after 21 games.
Tyler Hill (Goose Creek, S.C.) competes against Zebedis'
team as a player on the Rockbridge Rapids in Lexington, Va., and the Blue Hose infielder
has found similar success in the Valley Baseball League. On Monday, the league
named Hill its South Division Player of the Week for helping the Rapids to
second place thanks to a division-best .450 average last week, driving in
two runs and crossing the plate three times in the process. Hill boasts a .303
average overall and ranks second on the team in hits (20) and third in RBI (eight).
Tony Micklon (Sumter, S.C.) kept his bat swinging into
summer, ranking third in the Coastal Plains League with 22 RBI for the Florence (S.C.) Red Wolves while racking up a .284 batting average and 25 hits. Micklon's .420
slugging percentage places him second among Red Wolves and he leads the team in
doubles (six).
Kenny Bryant (Goose Creek, S.C.) has become one of the most dependable
members of the Coastal Plains League's Wilmington (N.C.) Sharks, batting .274 while
playing a team-high 24 games. Bryant has driven in 11 RBI and cranked out 22
hits, while drawing 14 walks to rank second on the team in free passes. The first baseman's average ties for third on the squad.
Brandon Paul (Augusta, Ga.) has played 14 games for the
Carolina (Fort Mill, S.C.) Stingers of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League and proved strong
at the plate, tying for second on the team in hits (nine) and posting a .237
batting average. Finding more success than just making contact, Paul's on-base percentage
ranks fourth (.341) and his on-base plus slugging (.683) ranks third.
Two PC players have impressed with runners in scoring position
to help out their squads on the scoreboard. Aaron Preston's (Goose Creek,
S.C.) three home runs lead the Wilmington Sharks and his 14 RBI tie him for
third on the team. John Wagner (Olney, Md.) also holds a tie for third in RBI on
his team, the Hornell (N.Y.) Dodgers of the New York Collegiate Baseball League, by plating six. Wagner, one of four Dodgers to
leg out a triple, crossed the plate nine times for Hornell through 18 games.
ON THE MOUND
Blue Hose pitchers have also made important contributions to
their teams from both the bullpen and starting roles. Nick Ferguson (Lancaster,
S.C.) ranks second in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League with two wins for
the Pineville (N.C.) Pioneers while pitching in relief. Ferguson has appeared
in five games, allowing only one earned run in nine innings of work.
Chandler Knox (Columbia, S.C.) served the majority of his
time in the closing role for PC but has given the Hornell Dodgers a reliable starter, going 1-1 in four starts
this season. Knox leads the team in innings pitched (26.2) and boasts the
second-best ERA (2.36) while striking out 16 batters, ranking second on the
Dodgers in that category.
Ryan Morris (Jamestown, R.I.) leads the Futures Collegiate
Baseball League in saves, with three, emerging as a top reliever for the Martha's
Vineyard (Mass.) Sharks. The righthander maintains a 1.80 ERA after five games
by allowing only one run in five innings of work and striking out six.
Chad White (Suwanee, Ga.) finds himself around a familiar
face in the summer, playing for the Strasburg Express with Zebedis. White leads
the Express in appearances, entering 11 of the team's 21 games and pitching 17
and two-thirds innings, second-highest on the team. The reliever has fanned 17
batters en route to a 3.06 ERA, third-best among the staff.
Stewart Curry (Rock Hill, S.C.) also shares a pitching staff with a
fellow PC player, starting two games for the Pineville Pioneers and appearing in
five games. Curry ranks second on the team in strikeouts, with 13, and boasts a
3.09 ERA.
Steven Richardson (Howe, Texas) has earned a save for the
Wilmington Sharks in nine appearances, the second-most on the team. His 2.84
ERA also stands fourth in a crowded bullpen and the southpaw has struck out 11
batters.
