Two more Blinn College baseball players recently signed national letters of intent, giving the Buccaneers 11 players who will play for four-year programs during the upcoming season. Relief pitcher David Rumsey signed with Sam Houston State University and infielder Eric Preuss, a Brenham High School graduate, signed with McMurry University. Preuss, a 6-foot-1, 185-pounder, played both first base and third base for the Buccaneers, batting .251 with eight doubles, one homer and 31 RBIs in 55 games. One of the team’s premier clutch hitters, Preuss batted .330 with runners in scoring position and ranked third on the team with 31 RBIs.

“I give a lot of credit to that young man because he showed up for us in some crucial situations,” head coach Harvey McIntyre said. “We bounded him around at third base and first base, but he showed up every day and got after it with whatever glove we asked him to put on.” McMurry, located in Abilene, enters its first season in NCAA Division II competition in the Fall. Rumsey, a 6-foot-1, 155-pound right-hander out of Tomball, signs with Sam Houston after going 3-1 with three saves in 20 2/3 innings last season. He posted a 4.12 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 11 walks. “He’s an undersized kid, but he’s going to compete and mix the strike zone with two quality pitches,” McIntyre said. “He could still hide behind a telephone pole, but he’s gotten stronger and more physical. I think his best days are ahead of him.”

Rumsey throws a 91-92 mph fastball and a slurve, and has worked on developing a change-up this summer. He will join another Buccaneer pitcher, Jason Simms, at Sam Houston. The Bucs have now sent every sophomore who wanted to continue their baseball career on to a four-year program. Kevin Daniels and Trevor Seidenberger signed with TCU, Jake Kane with Coastal Carolina, Tyler Boss with Oral Roberts, Garrett Logan and Ethan Logan with Northwestern State, Markus Carr with Oklahoma Christian and Christian DeLeon with Nebraska. Additionally, freshman Eric Wood was drafted and signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. “This was a great group of kids,” McIntyre said. “They did what they came here to do, and I couldn’t be more proud of those players and our staff.” The Buccaneers went 34-24 record last season, including a 21-13 mark in Region XIV Conference play. For more information on Blinn College baseball, visit www.buccaneersports.com.