Tuesday, July 8, 2003
BLUE
HOSE BASEBALL ANNOUNCES SEVEN MORE SIGNEES
FOR UPCOMING YEAR
CLINTON, S.C. — Davan Abney, John
Berrian, Benjamin
Braxton, Max
Fischer, Donald Sheppard, Matthew
Sparrow, and Ben
Tankersley have signed to play baseball at Presbyterian
College announced today by 11th-year head coach Doug
Kovash.
Abney,
a 6-0, 175-pound shortstop from Taylors, S.C., played for Blue
Ridge High School and head coach Steve Goodwin. During his high school career, Abney led his team to
four state playoff appearances. As a senior, he hit .378 with
four triples, 36 RBI, and a .905 slugging percentage en route
to all-region honors. In addition, he played for the Greer
American Legion Post team coached by Mike
Palka and averaged .406 with seven homeruns and 11 stolen
bases. Abney will also play football for the Blue Hose this
fall.
Berrian,
a 5-9, 150-pound second baseman/shortstop from Lexington,
S.C., played for Lexington High School and head coach Tommy
Williams. Berrian helped lead his team to a 22-6 overall
record and a berth in the state championship game as a senior.
During the summer he plays for Lexington American Legion Post
7 and head coach Dale
Warner.
Braxton,
a 6-0, 195-pound first baseman from Vienna, Ga., played for
Fullington Academy in Pinehurst, Ga. and head coach Jim
Braxton. During his senior year, Braxton hit .550 with
eight homeruns and 40 RBI while leading his team to the second
round of the state playoffs and a 14-10 record. For his high
school career, he has been selected all-region three times and
all-state each of the last two seasons. During the summer he
plays for Vienna American Legion Post 202 and head coach Chance
Reynolds. He hit .365 and led his team to the state
tournament during the summer of 2002.
Fischer,
a 6-1, 185-pound pitcher from Cumming, Ga., played for North
Forsyth High School and head coach Jim Cahill. As a senior Fischer compiled a 7-3 mark on the mound in
58.2 innings of work with a 2.74 ERA while leading his team to
a 16-10 mark. He was named all-state while receiving the NFHS
Scholar-Athlete Award and Most Valuable Pitcher Award as a
senior. In the summer he plays for the East Cobb Cardinals and
head coach Chris
Caldwell. He helped his team qualify for the CABA World
Series and Super Series and participated in the Perfect Game
Wooden Bat Showcase and East Cobb Classic.
Sheppard,
a 5-11, 165-pound second baseman from Sylvania, Ga., played
for Screven County High School and head coach J.T. Pollock. Sheppard posted a .320 batting average in high school
to go along with 40 stolen bases. He spent the last two
seasons at Young Harris College were helped lead the team to a
52-12 record in 2003 and a game short of the College World
Series. His team won their third GJCAA championship in the
last four years this past season as Sheppard hit .302 with 15
stolen bases en route to selection to the GJCAA All-Star Team.
He graduated Cum Laude from Young Harris College in May of
2003.
Sparrow,
a 5-11, 170-pound shortstop from Scranton, S.C., played for
the Carolina Academy and head coach Scottie Keefe. During his senior year he hit .554 with three
homeruns, 25 stolen bases and 21 RBI en route to
all-conference honors for the fourth year in a row. He helped
his team post a 19-4 overall record and a runner-up finish in
SCISA AA Division. During the summer he plays for the Lake
City American Legion team and head coach Joey
Weatherford.
Tankersley,
a 5-7, 145-pound second baseman from Evans, Ga., played for
Greenbrier High School and head coach Ed Williams. He helped lead his team to a 26-6 mark as a senior and
earned all-county honors each of the last two seasons. In
addition, Tankersley has helped led his team to the state
playoffs each of the last three seasons. He will also play
football for the Blue Hose this fall.
“We are
very excited about the additions of these seven outstanding
student-athletes,” said Kovash. “They will be valuable
additions for our program for years to come and we look
forward to watching them develop into tremendous college
baseball players.”