Several Pitt-Bradford baseball players recently signed summer league contracts with various teams to allow them the chance to continue playing while not in school. Rising seniors Aaron Cressley and Joe Chittester as well as rising junior Chris Kemp inked deals with separate teams.
Cressley has a shot to be drafted in the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. A number of teams have expressed interest at this point and it will be a wait-and-see process when the Draft takes place on June 5-7. For the year, Cressley finished with a 2.75 ERA and an overall record of 5-4. He started in all nine appearances and tossed three complete games. In 52.1 innings of work, he allowed 25 runs, only 16 earned, on 42 hits and struck out a team-high 76 batters.
Chittester, who plays first base, has inked a contract with the New Market Rebels in the Valley League in New Market, VA. He finished the 2014 season second on the team in batting average with a .304. He recorded 34 hits in 112 appearances at the plate and scored 24 runs. He tallied six doubles and cracked two home runs. While at first base, Chittester finished with a .975 fielding percentage and was responsible for nine assists and a team-high 189 putouts.
Kemp signed a deal with the Wellsville Nitros in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. The Nitros, a member of the league’s Western Division, are located in Wellsville, NY. Kemp, a catcher and relief pitcher, appeared and started in nine games as a sophomore on the Panthers’ roster this season. He finished the year with a .250 average at the plate and recorded eight hits in 32 appearances with six runs scored. He tallied one double and drove in four runs. On the mound, he made three appearances and earned one save while compiling a 1-0 record. He had an ERA of 3.86 and allowed three runs, all earned, on three hits and fanned four.