UWA baseball inks five in early signing
Published 10:10 am Thursday, December 12, 2013
University of West Alabama head baseball coach Gary Rundles and his staff have signed three junior college players and a pair from Alabama high schools during the early signing period.
In addition to earning academic all-conference honors, right-handed pitcher Jorge Cruz from Colby (Kan.) Community College posted a 3-1 record with seven saves and a 2.28 earned run average his freshman year. The 2012 Colorado 1A Player of the Year, he led Stratton (Colo.) High School to back-to-back state championships, posting a 9-1 record with a 0.37 ERA while batting .431 as a senior. He was the winning pitcher in both title games, striking out a combined 25 hitters. In addition, his walk-off RBI single clinched the 2012 title.
Jake Bush is a left-handed pitcher and outfielder that averaged seven strikeouts per game as a freshman at East Central (Miss.) Community College in 2013. The Brookwood High School product helped lead ECCC to the MACJC State Championship while not making a fielding error in 2013.
Right-handed pitcher and outfielder Kevin Simmons will be coming to UWA from Wallace State community College after playing his freshman year at Mississippi Valley State University. The Dallas County High School product played in 34 games at MVSU, batting .225 and posted a 1-5 record on the mound.
Prep players Chris Simon of Enterprise High School and Ryan Hughes of Davidson High School round out the early signing class. Simon hit .305 as a junior with 11 doubles and 24 RBI as a junior. A solid hitter, Hughes projects as a middle infielder at UWA.