Auburn Baseball Welcomes 13 Freshmen And One Transfer Into The Mix For 2008 Season
Aug. 16, 2007
2008 Newcomers in PDF Format
Thursday was a banner day for the Auburn baseball team as the Tigers welcomed 13 freshmen and a transfer to the squad for the 2008 season. The freshman class includes three players that were drafted in this past summer's Major League Baseball Draft while 23rd-round pick junior Mike Bianucci also chose to return to The Plains for the upcoming season. Pgcrosschecker.com had this to say about Auburn's recruiting class. "Big, Deep and Talented (Brian Fletcher, Wes Gilmer, Hunter Morris, Kevin Patterson). If these hitters show up for class at Auburn, the Tigers might have the best offensive team in college baseball in a couple of years. They all hit and can hit right now without needing much projection. Morris and Patterson are left-handed hitters with middle-of-the-order potential; it's a scary thought where they might be in three years with metal bats." The 13 freshmen that attended class on Thursday at Auburn were Fletcher (Fayetteville, Ga./Starr's Mill), Gilmer (Pinson, Ala./Pinson Valley), Justin Hargett (Hartselle, Ala./Hartselle), Rus Harper (Birmingham, Ala./Oak Mountain), Bradley Hendrix (Birmingham, Ala./Oak Mountain), Jon Luke Jacobs (Gainestown, Ala./Jackson), Justin Jones (Millbrook, Ala./Stanhope Elmore), Cory Luckie (Prattville, Ala./Prattville), Chez McCann (Deatsville, Ala./Edgewood), Morris (Huntsville, Ala./Grissom), Miles Morton (Birmingham, Ala./Spain Park), Trent Mummey (Pinson, Ala./Pinson) and Patterson (Birmingham, Ala./Oak Mountain). Joining the freshmen was junior Matt Hall, who joins the Tigers from Scottsdale, Ariz., after spending his first two years as an infielder at Arizona State. He played in 52 games last season and hit .313 for the College World Series team. In three games against the Tigers in Auburn last February he went 8-for-11 (.727) with two doubles, four RBI and three runs scored. Of the newcomers, Morris (2nd round pick - Boston Red Sox), Patterson (24th round - Chicago White Sox) and Fletcher (39th round - Houston Astros) all chose to enroll at Auburn and forgo signing a contract with the team that drafted them. The Tigers have had back-to-back top-20 rated recruiting classes. This year's junior class was ranked 10th in the country by Baseball America while the sophomore class garnered a ranking of 18th. The Tigers will hold fall practice from Sept. 20-Nov. 3. All practices are closed to the public with the exception of the scrimmage dates listed below. The Tigers will close out the fall practice schedule with the annual Blue/Orange World Series which begins on Tuesday, Oct. 30 and runs through Saturday, Nov. 3. The annual Home Run Derby to benefit the Lee County Boys and Girls Club will be held Friday, Nov. 2, at 6 pm CT. Open Scrimmage Dates
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