April 18, 2008

Baseball Adds Two JUCO Transfers, Four Prep Stars to 2009 Squad

    Youngstown -- Two junior college transfers and four high school seniors have signed a National Letter of Intent to continue their academic and baseball careers at Youngstown State, head coach Rich Pasquale announced.
    In total, eight new players are now set to play for the Penguins in 2009. Signing an NLI are infielders Jeremy Banks, Greg Dissinger, Jacke Healy and Brian Solitario, outfielder Derek Carr and pitcher Jim Kinnick. They join November signee Rob Wratcher and Alex Oles, a current YSU student who has previously played at the University of Pittsburgh.
    "I'm extremely excited to bring in this group as my first recruiting class," Pasquale said. "All of our signees are very athletic, and they're also good students. They will all come in and have a chance to be an impact player right away. Our already solid program becomes that much better with them on board."
    Healy, a shortstop from Tunkhannock, Pa. who is currently enrolled at Potomac State College of WVU, headlines the group. The sophomore is currently eighth in the NCJAA Division I rankings with a .486 batting average. In 24 games, Healy has hit eight home runs, seven doubles, two triples, driven in 32 runs and stolen six bases.
    Dissinger, a native of Lancaster, Pa., is a currently freshman at NJCAA Division II Lenoir Community College in North Carolina. He has the ability to play first base or catcher, and he is batting .400 with two home runs and 12 RBIs in 40 at bats over 22 games.
    Kinnick is hurler from Austintown, Ohio, who is attending Austintown Fitch High. Last year he held Lakewood St. Edward scoreless for five innings in the district finals of the state tournament. He carried that momentum over to the summer in the Youngstown Class B League when he went 4-1 with four shutouts, struck out 40 batters and allowed only two earned runs in 33.0 innings.
    Oles also played at Austintown Fitch and enrolled at Pittsburgh out of high school. The left-hander made one appearance for the Panthers in 2006, and he has two years of eligibility remaining.
    Banks is a first baseman from Steubenville, Ohio, who is a senior at Steubenville High. As a junior he batted .359 with three home runs and 23 RBIs for the Big Red. He then hit .373 with four homers, 14 doubles and eight triples in 66 games for American Legion Post 33 over the summer. Banks is no stranger to the YSU baseball program - his older brother Justin played for the Penguins from 2003-06.
    Carr is an outfielder from Titsuville High in Titusville, Pa. During the 2007 summer he batted .479 with six home runs, 29 RBIs, 14 doubles and stole 21 bases.
    Solitario is a middle infielder from Wadsworth High who batted .338 with 21 RBIs and 15 doubles during the summer. In the high school circuit he racked up a team-high total in RBIs despite hitting in the leadoff spot.
    Wratcher, an outfielder from Gateway High in Monroeville, Pa., hit .430 with four home runs, 49 RBIs and 32 stolen bases as a junior.
 

% - Is currently enrolled at YSU and intends on playing in 2009
& - Signed National Letter of Intent early in November 2007