FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Courtesy of Cal Poly Media Relations
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Five high school players and two from community colleges have signed national letters of intent to further their baseball careers at Cal Poly.
The announcement was made Wednesday by Mustang baseball coach Larry Lee and director of athletics Alison Cone.
The group includes three pitchers, a catcher, one infielder and a pair of outfielders.
“It’s a fairly small recruiting class that will hopefully fulfill our needs for the 2010 baseball campaign,” said Lee. “The combination of quality high school players along with two junior college players hopefully will give us some stability at various positions. We’re hoping that a few of these players will immediately step in and be impact players for us.”
The seven early signees, listed alphabetically:
Kevin Corey, Infielder (R/R), Los Gatos, CA (Los Gatos High School)
Corey is a three-year varsity starter at shortstop under head coach Brad SanFilippo at Los Gatos High School, the same school which produced former Cal Poly outfielder Logan Schafer, now with the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Corey hit .380 with 11 doubles, two triples, one home run and drove in 24 runs with nine stolen bases as a junior. He also posted an 8-5 record as a starting pitcher with one save, striking out 50 batters in 67 innings. The Wildcats were 21-15 last spring and finished second in the DeAnza League with an 11-5 mark, advancing to the second round of the CIF-Central Coast Section playoffs. Corey earned first-team All-DeAnza League and second-team All-Central Coast Section honors as a junior and was one of two players to break the single-season hit record at Los Gatos High last spring, collecting 49 in 36 games. He was recruited by UC Davis, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge before choosing Cal Poly.
Robbie Erlin, Left-Handed Pitcher, Santa Cruz, CA (Scotts Valley High School)
Erlin has compiled a 15-7 win-loss record and 1.12 ERA in three varsity seasons under head coach Kurt Edwards at Scotts Valley High School. He is a three-year All-Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and All-Santa Cruz County pitcher and participated in the 2008 Area Code Games. Erlin is ranked in the top 200 for high school prospects by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. He has struck out 207 batters in 150 career innings with 40 walks and 103 hits. The Falcons were 15-12 last season and 6-6 for fourth place in the SCCAL. Erlin is a younger brother of Tommy Erlin, a southpaw pitcher at Cal Poly and a transfer from DeAnza Community College in Cupertino.
Mitch Haniger, Outfielder (R/R), Santa Clara, CA (Archbishop Mitty High School)
Haniger has hit .318 in two varsity seasons under head coach Bill Hutton at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose with 19 doubles, five home runs and 42 RBIs, stealing 13 bases. He hit .366 as a sophomore in 2007 and .265 last season with four home runs, 22 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Haniger led the Monarchs to a 24-11 record, third-place finish in the West Coast Athletic League and the championship game of the CIF-Central Coast Section Division I playoffs last spring. He played in the 2008 Area Code Games and is ranked No. 72 in Baseball America’s Class of 2009 High School Players. Haniger also played in the North-South Games (he was named North Team MVP) as well as the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars in Cary, N.C. As a sophomore, he hit .415 in WCAL games and was named first-team All-WCAL and team MVP. Haniger also is a wide receiver on the football team and has broken reception records in the WCAL and Central Coast Section. He chose Cal Poly over Loyola Marymount, UC Davis, Cal State Fullerton, Cal, Oregon and UC Santa Barbara and also was recruited by Oregon State, Santa Clara, Clemson, Arizona State and San Francisco.
Matt Russell, Outfielder (L/L), Ventura, CA (Ventura High School)
Russell hit .410 overall and .507 in Channel League play as a junior under head coach Paul Togneri at Ventura High School. He collected nine doubles, two triples and one home run, driving in 14 runs and stealing 13 bases en route to first-team All-Channel League, first-team All-Area and second-team All-Ventura County honors. He also was named team MVP and earned the Channel League batting average leader award. The Cougars were 14-15 a year ago and finished third in the Channel League with a 7-5 mark. Russell also was recruited by UC Riverside, Saint Mary’s and Southern California.
Elliot Stewart, Catcher (R/R), Santa Clara, CA (Archbishop Mitty HS/West Valley College)
Stewart will play his freshman season at West Valley College next spring before transferring to Cal Poly. As a senior under head coach Bill Hutton at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose last spring, he hit .363 with 14 doubles, one home run, 18 RBIs and five stolen bases. The Monarchs were 24-11 last spring with a third-place finish in the West Coast Athletic League and earning a spot in the championship game of the CIF-Central Coast Section Division I playoffs. Stewart earned first-team All-West Catholic Athletic League honors and also was first-team All-Central Coast Section, first-team All-San Jose Mercury News and second-team All-NorCal. He earned a varsity letter all four seasons at Mitty, earning all-league honorable mention as a sophomore and junior and playing on the CIF-Central Coast Section Division I championship team in 2005 as a freshman. He also was recruited by Santa Clara, UC Santa Barbara, Cal, San Francisco, Hawaii, UC Irvine, Kansas, Loyola Marymount and San Jose State.
Joey Wagman, Right-Handed Pitcher, Danville, CA (Monte Vista High School)
Wagman pitched 3 2/3 innings last spring for head coach Bill Piona at Monte Vista High School in Danville, striking out four and not allowing a run or a walk. Monte Vista posted an 18-8 overall record and finished fourth in the East Bay Athletic League with a 7-5 mark, advancing to the quarterfinal round of the CIF-North Coast Section 3A playoffs. He also pitched 2 1/3 innings as a sophomore as Monte Vista finished 15-10 overall and 7-5 in the EBAL. Wagman also was recruited by UC Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and UC San Diego.
Eugene Wright, Right-Handed Pitcher, Sandy, OR (Cerro Coso College)
Wright posted a 6-7 record and 3.72 ERA as a freshman under head coach Dick Adams at Cerro Coso College last spring, striking out 63 batters and walking 25 in 84 2/3 innings. He earned second-team All-Foothill Conference honors. Cerro Coso was 21-23 overall and 12-12 in Foothill Conference play in 2008. As a senior at Sandy High School in Sandy, Oregon, in 2007, Wright was 8-1 with a 1.18 ERA, striking out 46 batters in 50 innings. He earned first-team All-Mount Hood Conference honors and was named Sandy High’s Marine Corps Athlete of the Year of his senior class. Sandy was 11-12 in 2007 and 8-11 in Mount Hood Conference play. Wright was a Mount Hood Conference honorable mention pitcher as a junior. He was recruited by Liberty and Oregon before choosing Cal Poly.
Cal Poly, which finished 24-32 overall in 2008 after compiling four straight winning seasons, opens the 2009 campaign Feb. 20 with the opener of a three-game series against 2003 College World Series champion Rice in Baggett Stadium.
