Aggie Hardballers Earn Summer Post-Season Honors
Aug 18, 2004 | Baseball
August 18, 2004
After finishing the 2004 collegiate season with a trip to the NCAA Super Regionals and a final national ranking of No. 16, several Texas A&M baseball players spent the dog days honing their skills by playing in the nation's top amateur summer leagues.
"We had a bunch of guys play well this summer," commented A&M head coach Mark Johnson. "We are thrilled to get these guys back on campus and start preparations for the upcoming spring season. It is exciting when you have players coming back that earned awards after playing against the best amateur talent in the country."
Junior shortstop Cliff Pennington and junior right-handed pitchers Kevin Whelan and Robert Ray continuously made headlines in the Cape Cod League (Mass.), the nation's premier summer showcase.
Baseball America Magazine listed Pennington (Falmouth Commodores), Whelan (Wareham Gatemen) and Ray (Wareham Gatemen) as the Nos. 9, 10, and 11 prospects of the league, respectively.
The Cape Cod League produces top Major League Baseball draft choices annually. All six of the draft-eligible players listed in last year's top 10 were selected in the first round of this summer's MLB draft.
Pennington, from Corpus Christi, Texas, turned heads in the Cape Cod League, earning the league's 10th Player Award. Pennington hit .277 in the wooden-bat league and drove in 20 runs with eight doubles, a triple and three homeruns. He also led the league with 21 steals.
Whelan, who emerged as one of the nation's hardest throwers after taking the mound for the first time in the Jayhawk League in Kansas last summer, dominated opposing hitters this summer in the Cape. The Kerrville, Texas native tallied a league-leading 11 saves to earn Reliever of the Year honors. Whelan fanned 31 hitters in 21.2 innings and held opposing hitters to a miniscule nine hits and a 0.42 ERA. He walked just six batters in 18 appearances.
Ray, from Lufkin, Texas, sat down opposing hitters at an alarming rate, accumulating 57 strikeouts in 32.2 innings (1.74 per inning). Ray took the mound 15 times and finished the summer with a 2-1 record and an ERA of 1.93. Ray allowed just 21 hits and 18 walks.
"The summer leagues are definitely important for the players and their respective college teams," said Baseball America Executive Editor Jim Callis. "The three guys from A&M (Pennington, Whelan and Ray) all had great seasons in the Cape. Their experiences from the summer against the competition they faced will help them perform better in the spring. The summer leagues allow scouts to see what hitters can do with wood bats and how pitchers perform against the wood bat."
Aggie baseball players also made an impact in the inaugural season of the Texas Collegiate League, as five players were selected to play in the league's Futures Game, which highlighted the league's top pro prospects. Right-handed pitchers Austin Creps (Klein, Texas), Blake Rampy (Tomball, Texas), and Hart Hering (transfer from Weatherford JC) along with third baseman Austin Boggs (Pflugerville, Texas) and newcomer Ryan Hill (transfer from St. Mary's in San Antonio) played in the game at the Ameriquest Field in Arlington.
The Aggies begin preparations for the 2005 baseball season with fall workouts beginning on September 16. Fans are encouraged to attend fall workouts, which will conclude with the annual Fall World Series on October 7-10.
Hitters
Player (League/Team) Avg. G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB Baldwin, Andrew (Northwoods/Wisconsin) .267 29 90 5 24 5 0 2 7 1 Boggs, Austin (Texas Collegiate/McKinney) .291 22 86 17 25 6 1 5 27 0 Dalton, Parker (Texas Collegiate/Mineral Wells) .291 50 189 25 55 7 1 5 17 9 Harughty, Lee (Texas Collegiate/Mineral Wells) .242 31 66 3 16 4 0 2 11 3 Hill, Ryan (Texas Collegiate/Highland Park) .318 51 192 29 61 11 0 5 29 4 Howes, Andrew (Texas Collegiate/Highland Park) .232 38 112 12 26 2 0 6 21 1 Infante, John (Texas Collegiate/Coppell) .197 42 132 16 26 3 1 1 15 7 Mavroulis, Coby (Cape Cod/Harwich) .159 22 63 4 10 2 0 0 3 1 Pennington, Cliff (Cape Cod/Falmouth) .277 39 148 26 41 8 1 3 20 21 Stinson, Craig (Cape Cod/Bourne) .177 19 62 2 11 3 0 1 5 1 Stroud, Todd (Texas Collegiate/Weatherford) .250 43 160 26 40 11 1 11 39 2
Pitchers
Player (League/Team) ERA G W-L SV IP K BB Blackmon, William (Texas Collegiate/Weatherford) 5.35 6 2-1 0 33.2 27 16 Cline, Jon-Michael (Texas Collegiate/Mineral Wells) 4.20 8 1-5 0 40.2 30 15 Creps, Austin (Texas Collegiate/McKinney) 1.69 12 3-0 1 21.1 24 5 Hering, Hart (Texas Collegiate/Weatherford) 1.91 17 1-1 6 28.1 33 8 Nicholson, Kyle (Texas Collegiate/McKinney) 4.26 4 1-0 0 12.2 17 9 Rampy, Blake (Texas Collegiate/Colleyville-Grapevine) 1.29 11 0-0 0 14 13 14 Ray, Robert (Cape Cod/Wareham) 1.93 15 2-1 0 32.2 57 18 Soeder, Tyler (Texas Collegiate/Graham) 3.17 15 3-2 0 48.1 25 20 Whelan, Kevin (Cape Cod/Wareham) 0.42 18 2-2 11 21.2 31 6
