Baseball
Baseball's Eason Reloads for 2009 Season
(12/19/2008)
WINTERVILLE—After finishing the 2008 season a win shy of the NJCAA World Series, Pitt Community College Baseball Coach Tommy Eason hit the recruiting trail to reload for 2009.
Eason, who has a 103-50 record in three seasons with PCC, has signed 18 players to replace the 17 he lost to graduation, including Cleveland Indians first-round draft pick Lonnie Chisenhall.
Pitt has 11 players returning from last season’s club that finished 41-15 and won the Region X Tournament title before falling to Hagerstown Community College in the Eastern Districts.
Eason said he was pleased with his club’s effort during fall practice. “They worked hard, made good adjustments and competed every day,” he said. “We are extremely talented, but that doesn’t always win ballgames.”
Nationals Invite Bynum to Spring Training
(01/02/2009)
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Washington Nationals announced last month that former Pitt Community College baseball player Freddie Bynum has signed a minor league contract and will be among 13 new players the team has invited to participate in Spring Training next month.
The 28-year-old Bynum, a Wilson native, spent the past two seasons as a member of the Baltimore Orioles organization. After two seasons at PCC, he was a second-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics in 2000. He was later traded to the Chicago Cubs before moving on to Baltimore prior to the 2007 season.
A utility man for the Orioles, Bynum began the 2008 campaign on the disabled list after injuring his right knee at the start of Spring Training. He struggled from the plate when he returned the O's lineup, batting just .179 with eight runs batted in in 40 games before being outrighted to the Norfolk Tides, Baltimore's Triple-A affiliate.
Chisenhall Named an All-Star for Scrappers
(08/18/2008)
NILES, OH—Lonnie Chisenhall, a former Pitt Community College baseball standout, will take the field Tuesday night as part of the Fourth Annual New York-Penn League All-Star Game at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy, NY.
Chisenhall, who was selected 29th overall by the Cleveland Indians in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft, was one of five players from the Mahoning Valley Scrappers to be named an All-Star.
The former Bulldogs infielder is playing shortstop for the Scrappers and has a .301 batting average (66-for-219) through 52 games. Of his 66 hits, 22 (four homers, three triples and 15 doubles) have gone for extra bases.
NJCAA Honors Trio of PCC Athletes
(07/21/2008)
WINTERVILLE—The National Junior College Athletic Association honored three Pitt Community College athletes for academic excellence this month.
According to the NJCAA’s website, Pitt volleyball players Kristi Pipkin and Jessica Joyner have been named to the organization’s Academic All-American Team along with PCC baseball pitcher Hunter Sprague.
Cubs Select Levitt on 2nd Day of MLB Draft
(06/11/2008)
WINTERVILLE—A day after the Cleveland Indians called the name of Lonnie Chisenhall, the Chicago Cubs made Pitt Community College freshman pitcher Pete Levitt a second-day draft selection.
Levitt, a Virginia native, started five games for the Bulldogs in 2008 and posted a 2-0 record. In all, he made 12 mound appearances as a freshman and recorded a 5.57 earned run average in 32 1/3 innings.
A 6-foot-4-inch, hard-throwing right-hander, Levitt struck out 40 batters and limited opposing teams to a .208 batting average this season.
