Cardinal Nine Inks Six
December 02, 2003 | Baseball
Dec. 2, 2003
LOUISVILLE, KY - The University of Louisville baseball team has signed six high school athletes to letters of intent during the early signing period.
"We are very pleased with this group of young men, as we have addressed some of the needs we will have," noted Head Coach Lelo Prado.
Three of the signees hail from Kentucky, one is from Ohio and two are prep teammates in Miami, Florida.
Left-handed pitcher Jake Smith, from Owensboro, was 6-4 with a 1.95 ERA, fanning 129 in just 64 innings as a junior.
Derrick Alfonso, an infielder and catcher, already holds five career offensive record at Warren Central High School in Bowling Green, and is in the top 15 in six categories in the state of Kentucky entering his senior season.
Smith and Alfonso are joined by righty Zach Pitts from Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
Versatile Brian Hangbers is a DH/LHP from Edgewood High School in Hamilton, Ohio, and Jorge Castillo and Matt Moser will complete their prep career at Gulliver Prep in Miami, a national power in high school baseball.
Castillo, a first baseman, hit .407 with six home runs and 29 RBI as a junior member of the All Dade-County team.
Moser, a right-handed pitcher, was named one of the top prospects in the Sunshine Classic, one of the top high school showcases in the nation.
Louisville Cardinal Baseball Fall 2003 Signees:
Jake Smith LHP Owensboro, KY Owensboro HS Prado on Smith: "Not only is Jake considered a top candidate for Mr. Baseball inKentucky, he has been named one of the top 20 left-handed pitchers in the country by Team OneBaseball. At 6'4" he has good velocity to go along with his off speed stuff. We look forhim to contribute early in his career."
Derrick Alfonso C/INF Bowling Green, KY Warren Central HS Prado on Alfonso: "Derrick may be the best athlete in his class and anothercandidate for Mr. Baseball in Kentucky. He has a chance to leave Warren Central as thestates all-time leader in many offensive categories. He works very hard at the game, and weare excited to have him in our program."
Zach Pitts RHP Elizabethtown, KY Elizabethtown HS Prado on Pitts: "At 6'3" Zach gets everything out of his body, and will continueto get better as he gets stronger. He is a great student, works hard, and has great armstrength. We are extremely happy to have Zach in our program."
Matt Moser RHP Miami, FL Gulliver Prep Prado on Moser: "We are thrilled to get a quality pitcher like Matt from Miami. He is another guy who works really hard at what he does, and we expect him to contributeearly. He is the #1 starter on a very talented team at Gulliver Prep."
Jorge Castillo 1B Miami, FL Gulliver Prep Prado on Castillo: "I really believe that Jorge has the ability to be a greathitter, one of the best we have had in our program. He truly loves to play the game, andwants to learn to be a great player. Jorge was highly recruited and we are fortunate to havehim in Louisville."
Brian Hangbers LHP Hamilton, OH Edgewood HS Prado on Hangbers: "We will look for Brian to contribute early. He's a lefty withgood command of three pitches and he is very athletic. We will look to him on the moundfirst, but he also has some ability to swing the bat. We are glad to have him in our program."
