HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – A third pitcher from last year’s Lenoir-Rhyne University baseball team has signed and is playing minor league baseball.
RATLIFF
In a Wednesday press release from LRU, the school said junior pitcher Tad Ratliff – who played high school baseball at Alexander Central – has signed with the Kansas City Royals.
Ratliff had been playing for the Peninsula Pilots in Hampton, Va., a collegiate summer baseball team in the Coastal Plain League before he signed with Kansas City.
The Royals assigned Ratliff to the Burlington, N.C., Royals, a rookie league farm team in the Appalachian League.
His signing comes on the heels of two Bears from last season being drafted and signed in the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft – the Atlanta Braves took former Hibriten High pitcher John Curtis in the eighth round and the St. Louis Cardinals picked Thomas St. Clair of Winston-Salem in the 24th round.
Ratliff had four saves last season for LRU with an ERA of 2.65 with 42 strikeouts. His career totals are LRU are five wins, an ERA of 3.35, eight saves and 97 strikeouts.
Curtis, a left-hander, has been assigned to the Braves’ farm club in Danville, Va., and appeared in his first game on Wednesday against Burlington. He pitched one inning, gave up one hit and struck out one.
The Cardinals signed St. Clair on June 19 and he’s on the roster at Johnson City, Tenn. In two games with the Cardinals, he has one save after pitching two innings, giving up two hits and striking out five.