The biggest thing a college baseball player can expect is to sign a professional contract. Many have had the dream, but so many of them come short and disappeared off the radar before ever getting the chance. Jarred Frierson of the Urban Academy and also a former member of the UNLV Running Rebels is one of those players that have officially inked the ever so powerful signature to start playing for the Atlanta Braves farm system. It’s not just the numbers that Frierson has put up in college. In his four year at UNLV, the growth was constant with each year and watching him play was always exciting. He hit .359 as a senior and his ignition from the 2nd spot in the lineup was instrumental to the success of UNLV. In his season’s last series against the San Diego Aztecs, Tony Gwynn’s team found it almost impossible to keep Frierson off the bases. During the last Mountain West Conference championship Frierson played with heart and effectiveness and made the All-Tournament Team, so his new position as a professional baseball player is much deserved. As Jarred Frierson finds his way through another exciting phase of his life, the team he’s leaving behind, the Academy Barons are now officially on fire as they win their 4th game in a row, and it came against a the Santa Maria Packers in the first game of a three game series. This victory was a well balanced act of both hitting and pitching, and a defense that’s keeping errors to a minimum. Derek Eligio is starting to scorch the leather wrapped string and cork with a consistent bat that now lifts his average to .417. He went 2 for 4, scored 2 runs, and drove in a run against the Packers. Collearen Randolph the junior from Dominguez Hills was very present as he drove in two runs on a double to left field in the 7th inning. But the biggest bat for the Barons against the Packers in the first game was Drew Hillman. Fresh from the NCAA regional where as an Irvine Anteater he lost to UCLA in the final game, Hillman bangs all the drums as a Baron. He brings with him huge numbers from the Big West, and against the Packers he knocks out a homerun and couple of singles that produced two RBI’s and a pair of scored runs. Shane Boras didn’t let up either. In his only at bat of the game slapped an RBI single helping keep his batting average at .467 after 5 games and 15 at bats. The offense is looking like gold bricks in the hands of someone who knows what to do with them, but no offense is worth that much if the teams pitching looks like a devaluated peso. The Barons pitched with authority and only used 2 arms to collect their 6th win of the season. Martin Rosenfeld climbed onto the mound and delivered 4 nerve wrecking innings where he allowed 7 hits. He finished practically unscathed with only 1 earned run against him. He passed the ball over to the sophomore from Compton Community College, and I’m sure the 6’2 lefty left his mark on the Packers memories. Antonio Peraza went for 5 innings and only scattered a couple of hits as he shutdown them down. He struck out 5 in the process and his only teeth grinding glitch was a pair of walks he surrendered. The Barons are now 6-1 and look like a complete arsenal of baseball potential as they beat the Santa Maria Packers by the score of 6 to 1.
Adrian Nevarez
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