The Victoria Generals of the Texas Collegiate League have announced that two premiere players from Lehigh University have committed to play for Head Coach Chris Clemons this summer. Andy Russell, a sophomore outfielder was an everyday starter as a freshmen and hit .313 and slugged just under .500. According to Head Coach Sean Leary, "Andy has a chance to be a .350+
guy for us the next three seasons and become one of our school's all-time best hitters. He is lefty hitter with some pop. He has double digit HR potential and drives the ball gap to gap."
Leary went on to add that Andy is a 6.95 runner with average to above average arm strength. Andy was our #4 hitter last year and should be #3 or 4 the rest his Lehigh career. Andy played his '08 summer in the ACBL and hit .341 and had 9 2Bs, 2 3Bs and HR earning an a spot in the league's All-Star game.
Leary also said, " for the past 14 years, I've had the pleasure of coaching some very talented players and offensively Andy projects to be a player that would rank as one of the top players I will have coached."
Clemons said that "Our scouting reports indicate that Russell is as good an individual as he is a baseball player and that's the type of young man we want representing Victoria. This past summer he was selected as one of 8 players in the ACBL to be honored with a sportsmanship award."
Joining Russell this summer will also be his Lehigh teammate Brendan McGaheran.
As a freshmen, Brendan won the starting shortstop job. Leary said, "I had a 4 year starter and 2 time all-league SS that Brendan won the job from at mid-season. Brendan was our #3 hitter (Andy was #4) as a freshman. In back to back days, he had a game winning double versus Boston College and a HR in a our win over Notre Dame. Two great wins for our program early in the season -- and a great start to Brendan's career."
Clemons said that he is looking forward to seeing Brendan who has some pop (3 HR, 12 2bs) and speed (15 SBs). He is also an excellent defensive player with a plus arm.
Both Brendan and Andy were members of Lehigh's 2007 recruiting class that was ranked #4 in the Northeast (BC was #1). It was Lehigh's first ever regional ranking. Lehigh is a member of the Patriot League in the northeast region of the United States.
Clemons said that Russell and McGaheran are just two of the many talented and exciting ballplayers that will take the field at Riverside Park beginning in June. Those players names and reports will be released over the next month or so.
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Brad Haynes
VP Baseball Operations
The Victoria Generals
of the Texas Collegiate League
1.740.294.2503
