Blue Hose Baseball Wraps Up Summer League Action

CLINTON, S.C. – Members of the Presbyterian College baseball team wrapped up successful summers playing in collegiate leagues across the country, sharpening their skills in preparation for the 2013 Blue Hose season.

Outfielder Nate Chong (Duluth, Ga.), who spent his summer with the Forest City (N.C) Owls, received the No. 5 spot on the Baseball America Top Prospect List for the Coastal Plain League and collected a league postseason honor as well.

AT THE PLATE

Chong earned First Team postseason CPL All-Star recognition for his work with the Owls, leading the league in runs (38) and sacrifice flies (seven). The redshirt junior batted .317 (ninth in the league) and tied for third in hits (58), raking in a team-high 32 RBI and posting a .383 on-base percentage. He also stole 16 bases, leading the team in that category as well.

Brad Zebedis (Rock Hill, S.C.) took his talents to Hyannis (Mass.) Harbor Hawks of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League and made a pronounced impact, leading his team and ranking in the league’s top 20 in hitting (.303) while finishing eighth in the league in hits (50). The junior also led the Hawks in hits (50) while hitting four home runs for a .424 slugging percentage.

Cam McRae (Darlington, S.C.) enjoyed an enormously successful summer for the Florence Post 1 American Legion squad after his first year at PC. McRae started 45 of 48 games (appearing in 46, mostly at catcher) and won the team’s overall postseason award for performance, character and leadership. The sophomore led the team in average (.379), home runs (five), doubles (nine), hits (66) and runs (58) for his final Legion campaign.

Aaron Preston (Goose Creek, S.C.), of the Coastal Plain League’s Wilmington (N.C.) Sharks, hit a team-leading .287 with a squad-best 52 hits. Preston also paced the team with 23 RBI, three triples and ranked second in the league with 25 stolen bases. The redshirt junior ranked second with a .409 slugging percentage and three home runs.

Billy Motroni (Goose Creek, S.C.) ranked second in average while playing for the Valley Baseball League’s Strasburg (Va.) Express, hitting .288 on the summer. Motroni also hit two home runs and drove in 18 RBI, ranking third on the team with 44 hits. Fellow PC infielder Jay Lizanich (Greer, S.C.) played 19 games for the Express, delivering a .286 average and hitting one home run with nine RBI.

Robby Swab (Kernersville, N.C.) turned in an impressive abbreviated summer for the Kernersville (N.C.) Bulldogs of the Carolina-Virginia Collegiate League. The Blue Hose only played in 29 games but hit .295, with a .382 on-base percentage and only seven strikeouts in 78 at-bats.

ON THE MOUND

Chad White (Suwanee, Ga.) took over as the go-to reliever for the CPL’s Florence RedWolves, making a team-high 16 appearances. White posted a 2.16 earned run average and threw 33.1 innings on the summer, striking out 36 to rank second on the team in that category. The Blue Hose hurler picked up one save and held opponents to a .233 batting average. Fellow teammate Beau Dees (Blenheim, S.C.) shared staff duties with White on the RedWolves, making 10 appearances (four starts) and striking out 20 en route to a 4.05 ERA.

Ryan Morris (Jamestown, R.I.) continued the theme of PC pitchers leading their pitching staffs, emerging as the closer for the Martha’s Vineyard  (N.Y.) Sharks of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. Morris collected seven saves (third in the FCBL) and went 2-1 on the season with a 2.66 earned run average, appearing in a staff-high 17 games.

Bud Jeter (Columbia, S.C.) also served a reliable role for the Green Bay (Wisc.) Bullfrogs of the Northwoods League, appearing in 22 games for the second-most on staff. Jeter struck out 42 batters and picked up a win in 39.2 innings pitched.

Michael Ricchi (McKinney, Texas) spent his summer with the Hamilton (Ohio) Joes of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, playing 11 games and starting three. Ricchi ranked fourth on the team in innings pitched (31.1) and earned a win while striking out 23 and posting a 4.60 earned run average.

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