The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team announced the
signings of three more players to National Letters of Intent on
Wednesday as junior college transfers Patrick Criss and Daren
Heaton and recent El Paso Andress High School graduate Martin
Parra.
Both Criss and Heaton are right-handed pitchers that will be
counted on to add depth to the pitching staff whether it as
starters or relievers.
Criss, who a spent a season each Galveston College and Howard
Junior College, was 6-1 as a sophomore helping Howard to a 36-18
record in 2004. Criss, who stands 6-4, prepped at O'Connell High
School in Galveston where he was 11-2 as a senior with a 3.00 ERA
and twice earned all-state honors.
"Criss was a solid pitcher when he was at Howard," said Islander
assistant coach Gene Salazar. "He was able to get in a lot of
quality innings and should be part of a group of six pitchers
battling for roles as starters which gives us more depth than we
have had in the past. He is a hard throw that is mechanically
sound."
Heaton, a 6-5 righthander, spent the past two seasons at Scottsdale
Community College in Arizona where he had a stellar sophomore
campaign finishing fifth in the nation in the Division II and
second in the Arizona Community College Athletic Association with a
1.91 ERA. In high school, Heaton was an all-region player at Dobson
High School in Mesa, Ariz.
"Daren is a big, strong athlete," said Salazar. "He has the
potential to come in and be a starter right away because of his
experience in junior college. He was a top right-handed pitcher on
his team in college so he is used to the pressure."
Parra was honorable mention all-state in Class 4A as a senior. The
shortstop batted .485 with eight home runs, 38 runs batted and 15
steals in to lead the Eagles. Parra's eight home runs were tops,
RBI total second, and average fourth in the El Paso region.
"Martin is a tremendous athlete, and over time he could develop
into quite a player for us in the infield or in the outfield," said
Salazar. "He played three sports in high school and is probably
ahead of the other freshmen in terms of physical development. He
has the chance to come in and contribute as an everyday or spot
starter."
The newly signed trio joins seven other players the Islanders have
signed for the 2006 season. Previously, the team signed junior
college transfers Emerson Trager of Galveston College, Matt Wilson
of Cedar Valley College, Bryan Gerondale and Randy Aguayo of
Wharton and high schoolers Jacob Perez, Nathaniel Ramirez, and
Ernie Olivarez.
