UWF signs 13 for the upcoming ball season

Eric Kroll signed to play baseball at UWF.

After leading West Florida to their first Gulf South Conference Championship and first NCAA Regional Tournament, head coach Mike Jeffcoat has officially announced the addition of 13 incoming student-athletes for the 2008 baseball season.

Nine of the incoming players will be freshman beginning their college careers at West Florida, after signing a national letter of intent to play for the Argos. From the surrounding Pensacola area, outfielder Eric Kroll and catcher Tyler Hastings will be part of the 2008 squad.

The left-handed hitting Kroll played for Coach Charlie Warner at Pace High School last season where he had a .355 batting average with three homers and 25 RBI.

Hastings, a graduate of Niceville High School, where he played for Coach Kevin Berry, batted .370 in his senior season with five home runs and 24 RBI.

Joining Kroll and Hastings in the freshman class will be Edgewater High School teammates, right-handed pitcher Sixto Velasco and infielder Paul Jenkins who played for Head Coach Chip Gierke last season. In his senior season Jenkins batted .526 with 3 homeruns and knocked in 21 runs.

Also adding to the pitching staff, right hander Eric DuCharme will also join the team. DuCharme played for Head Coach Larry Gaboury last season at Lake Mary Prep.

During his High School career DuCharme posted a 15-4 record with a 2.43 ERA, while compiling 170 strike outs and allowing opposing hitters to bat only .173.

Rounding out the freshman class are outfielder and pitcher Greg Pron from Daphne High School and infielder Brandon Brewer from Apopka High School.

In addition to the nine freshmen, West Florida will also be adding four transfer students.

Pensacola native Ryan Gray will be returning home to play for the Argonauts after two seasons at Jefferson Davis Community College under Head Coach Darrell Blevins. Infielders Max Parks from Mississippi College and Scott Beckwith from Gulf Coast Community College will also be joining the team next season.

Parks, a Crestview native, played one year with Mississippi College after transferring from Alabama Southern Community College. In his only year with the Chowtaws, Parks batted .339 with four home runs and 42 RBI.

Beckwith finished his community college career batting .327 with 12 doubles and 31 RBI.

Left-handed pitcher Billy Whitaker will also link up with the Argonauts in 2008. Whitaker was named First Team All Mid-Florida Conference and finished the season with a 7-4 record with a 3.13 ERA and 65 strikeouts.

The Argonauts will begin their 2008 season with a pair of game against Rollins College on February 2 and 3 at Pelican Park located on the UWF campus.