Several Hofstra baseball players compete in collegiate summer leagues

Several Hofstra baseball players are keeping active this summer competing in amateur collegiate leagues across North America in preparation for the 2011 season.

More than a dozen Hofstra players can be seen this summer on teams that compete in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League, the Atlantic League, New York Collegiate Baseball League, Coastal Plains League and Prospect League. Hofstra baseball also has a presence north of the border with Pride hurlers David D'Errico and Matt Watkins pitching for the Okotoks Dawgs of the Western Major Baseball League in Alberta, Canada.

Shining especially bright this summer is Hofstra pitcher Jeff Guthridge, who in mid July was 2-0 with a 2.53 earned run average in 20 appearances out of the bullpen for the Morehead City Marlins of the Coastal Plain League. "He's tearing it up," said Hofstra baseball head coach Patrick Anderson of Guthridge, who will be senior for the Pride in 2011. "He's done a great job all summer long."

Anderson said a key reason why so many Pride players were able to be placed in these top amateur collegiate baseball leagues was the hard work his assistant coach John Russo, who prior to coming to Hofstra in 2008 spent the previous five summers as manager for the Vermont Mountaineers of the NECBL. The collegiate baseball seasons will wrap up by early August with Pride players then returning to Hofstra to gear up for fall workouts.