Tuesday, August 03, 2004

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 3, 2004) - East Tennessee State baseball head coach Tony Skole announced Tuesday that 2004 Atlanta Journal Constitution Cobb County (Ga.) Pitcher of the Year Jonathan Stoudt (Marietta, Ga.) has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Buccaneers beginning in the 2005 season. Stoudt had a perfect 9-0 record last season with a microscopic 0.83 ERA. He struck out 66 batters in 59 innings, allowing just seven earned runs and an opponents' batting average of .141. In addition to Cobb County Pitcher of the Year, Jonathan was also named Marietta Pitcher of the Year following the 2004 season by the Marietta Journal. The 6'6 righty set several Sprayberry High School single-season records in 2004, including no-hitters (2), perfect games (1), fewest hits allowed (30), shutouts (4) and fewest earned runs (7). Stoudt is tied for the shutouts record with current New York Mets star pitcher Kris Benson. Also a standout in the classroom, Stoudt graduated with honors with a 3.7 GPA. He earned the team academic award in 2003. "Jonathan is going to make an immediate impact in our program," said Skole. "We were very fortunate to sign such a quality player and a quality person this late in the summer. Jonathan is a big kid who pitches in the upper 80's. He has had great success while pitching in one of the best baseball areas in the country. Jonathan is also a great student who will be an asset to our community and our campus."