August 9, 2009

Lineup Card

Lineup Card is a new feature on CollegeBaseballInsider.com, highlighting notes from around college baseball.

August 1-9, 2009

Duke senior first baseman Nate Freiman was named ACC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and headlined the All-ACC Academic Baseball Team. He was a First Team Academic All-American and graduated with a 3.83 GPA in history with a minor in math. Duke’s career home run leader, Freiman was an eighth-round selection of the San Diego Padres. He led the Blue Devils in 2009 with a .352 batting average, 20 home runs and 62 RBI.

Clemson will hold its third Alumni Baseball Weekend on Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 30 and 31. More than 150 former Tigers are expected to return. There will be a golf tournament on Oct. 30 at 9 am at Boscobel Country Club. The Alumni Game will occur later in the day at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. There will be a tailgate picnic on Oct. 31 prior to the football game against Coastal Carolina. Contact Roberts Balliet in the baseball office at 864-656-1940 or by email at rballie@clemson.edu.

Former South Alabama pitcher Greg Johnson signed a free agent contract with the Chicago White Sox. He was assigned to the Great Falls Voyagers of the Pioneer League. Johnson was 4-6 with two saves this past season with a 5.94 ERA in 50 innings. Three of his wins came against SEC opponents (Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama).

Former Georgia Tech standout Rhett Parrott will become the volunteer assistant at Duke. He will assist with the pitchers, run the outfield program, break down video and coordinate the camps for the Duke Baseball Academy. Parrott posted a mark of 20-11 in three seasons with the Yellow Jackets. He was a ninth-round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001 and pitched in the minors for five seasons, rising as high as AAA.

Chris Ramirez has been promoted to top assistant at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Ramirez enters his third season with the Islanders. He will work with the outfielders, coach third, oversee recruiting, handle team travel, coordinate equipment and apparel contracts and serve as the liaison to the Center of Athletic Academic Services. Ramirez is working on his M.B.A. at TAMUCC.

Jerry Shank has been named an assistant coach at Hartford. He will be the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. Shank was at Canisius the past two years after two seasons at Ohio Valley University. Shank started his collegiate career at Hampden-Sydney before transferring to Eastern Mennonite for his final two seasons, where he earned a degree in history in 2005.

Two former Citadel players will be inducted into the Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame. Donald Morillo was an honorable mention All-American for the Bulldogs in 1995. He led the Southern Conference in ERA, saves and appearances in 1995, as well as being named SoCon tourney MVP. Morillo signed a free-agent contract with the Texas Rangers and played for the Charleston RiverDogs in 1996. Doug Pounder led the Bulldogs to the 1971 Southern Conference title by going 10-1 with a 1.28 ERA. He was inducted into The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.

Dave Nakama will be the top assistant for Lindsay Meggs at Washington. He will coordinate all the hitting, assist with team defense and oversee the outfielders. Nakama has coached the past eight seasons at Stanford.