HARRISONBURG, Va., Nov. 14, 2011 - James Madison University baseball head coach Spanky McFarland announced today the signing of four student-athletes to national letters of intent to join the Dukes for the 2012-2013 academic year.
The
four newly-signed players include three pitchers and one catcher/utility player.
The Diamond Dukes' incomers include Michael
Church (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock), J.T
Root (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown), Trey Jones (Salisbury Md./James M. Bennett) and Bobby San Martin (Fairfax Va./Centreville).
"We're not done yet, but I think all three pitchers will help us immediately, and Bobby will help us in some capacity either at catcher or in the outfield. His speed will play right away, that's guaranteed." McFarland went on to say of the fall signees as a group, "We feel good about signing these guys so far. All four will make contributions for us. It's a very good November recruiting class and fits in well with our guys. They have the things we look for - kids with upside, good character kids and kids who get after it on the field."
Michael Church, RHP, 5-11, 185, Burke, Va./ Lake Braddock
Chur
ch
enters JMU from Burke Va. and Lake Braddock High School. Church, entering his fourth varsity season for
the Bruins, went 8-1 with a 2.09 ERA as a junior. The right-hander struck out 48 in 53 2/3
innings with 15 walks and surrendered just 13 extra-base hits. He played in the 2011 Virginia Commonwealth
Games this past season. Church's junior honors included First Team All-District
Pitcher, Second Team All-Region Pitcher, Honorable Mention All-Met Pitcher and
all-star game participant. Going into his Senior Year, Church was chosen to go
to Jupiter Florida to pitch in the World Wood Bat Association (WWBA) World
Championship game with the Orioles Scout Team. Lake Braddock was the 2011
District Champions.
J.T Root, Pitcher, 6-3, 192, Hagerstown Md./ North Hagerstown
Root,
a right-handed pitcher, competed for the North Hagerstown Hubs. The Hubs were the
2010 Maryland AA State Champions and the 2011 Maryland Regional runnerup. Root
is a three-year varsity letter winner and earned Second Team All-Conference and
Second Team All-Area as a sophomore. Root also earned First Team All-MVAL
Pitcher and First Team All-Area Pitcher as a junior. He started eight out of
nine games both sophomore and junior year with 38 innings as sophomore and 45
2/3 as a junior, with a combined total of 122 strikeouts and 12 wins. Root also
played on the Mid-Atlantic Red Sox, who were the 2011 Pastime Champions at the
University of Pittsburgh and the 2011 Draftable Champions at the University of
Richmond. Root pitched the Red Sox to the Maryland State Legion Championships
in 2011 and has 117 strikeouts in 85 innings in Legion play the last two
seasons.
Trey Jones, Pitcher, 6-4, 210, Salisbury Md./ James M. Bennett
Jones
is one of two Dukes deriving from Maryland, representing James M. Bennett High
School. The Clippers were the 2011 Maryland State 3A Champions with a perfect record
of 22-0 and ranking number two in Maryland and number 173 nation-wide. Jones
earned All-Bayside Conference honors at pitcher with a 7-0 record, two saves
and a 0.84 ERA. He also averaged 13.67 strikeouts per seven innings. Jones was part
of the Wicomico Blue Sox American Legion Post 64 team that went 22-2 and captured
the 2011 District Five championship and also captured the 2010 Maryland state
title.
Bobby San Martin, C/INF, 5-11, 180, Fairfax Va./ Centreville
San
Martin signed with the Dukes out of Centreville High School in Fairfax, where
he lettered all four years for the Wildcats. San Martin earned Second Team
All-District as a junior for the Bruins in 2011. He was also recognized as a
scholar-athlete for 2009 and 2011. Noted
for his overall speed and athleticism, San Martin could enter the picture as
both a catcher and utility player for the Dukes with the ability to play just
about any position on the field.
JMU is coming off a 42-19 season in 2011. The Dukes won the regular season in the Colonial Athletic Association at 21-9 and captured their second CAA Championship with a 3-0 run through the tournament. JMU finished as the runner up in the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, its best postseason run since reaching the College World Series in 1983.
