University of Richmond Athletics
Spider Baseball Inks Three In Early Signing Period
11/22/2005 | Baseball
Nov. 22, 2005
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Head Coach Ron Atkins and his staff signed three high school prospects to National Letter of Intent, who will join the team for the 2006-07 school year and the 2007 season.
"We are very excited about the three student-athletes we signed during the early signing period," head coach Ron Atkins said. "We do not lose many players this year, and coach Johnson and coach Little did a tremendous job of identifying and addressing our needs during this time. Left-handed pitching was our first priority, and we are very confident we signed two top-notch arms in Matt Zielinski and Will Hanlon."
Zielinski is a lefty the Spiders will add in 2007. The, Southampton, Pa., native finished his junior season 9-0 with a 1.33 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 68 innings of work. He also helped his team to the Carpenter Cup Championship by winning the final at Citizens' Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pa. He picked up eight individual honors following his undefeated season including the Philadelphia Daily News' "Pitcher of the Year" award, Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper "High School Player of the Year," and the Philadelphia Catholic League Co-MVP honor. As a sophomore, the 6-3 lefty finished 4-3 with a 1.97 earned run average with 40 strikeouts in 45 innings.
Will Hanlon, a southpaw from Chevy Chase, Md., was selected Honorable Mention Washington Post All-Met and First Team Montgomery County Journal All-County. The pitcher/first baseman finished the season 6-2, an ERA of 2.57 and 59 punchouts all in 49 innings. The First Team All-Gazette and MCPS Coaches All-Star selection led his team in hitting (.483), hits (29), homeruns (4) and RBI (26). The senior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School also participated in soccer and basketball his sophomore season prior to being named a "Greater D.C. Top Pitcher" by School Sports Magazine.
Scott O'Neil will also join the Spiders in 2007, after a successful prep career at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, Ind. O'Neil hit .315 with seven homeruns and 29 RBI as a junior. Defensively, he threw out 13 baserunners and helped the Cathedral squad to a 28-5 record and Indianapolis City Championship. Cathedral then went on to win sectionals and regionals before qualifying for the State semifinals. Following his junior season he was named an Indianapolis Star All-City first team selection, a Coaches All-City first team selection and an Honorable Mention Indianapolis Star All-North Team selection. He is already listed as a PUMA 2006 Preseason All-American.
"O'Neil will provide us with some depth behind the plate, as well as supplying some power to the line-up," Atkins added. "We look forward to having all three of these players joining us as Spiders."
