December 17, 2002

FURMAN BASEBALL SIGNS FOUR
TO NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman head baseball coach Ron Smith announced today the signing of four recruits to nationa lletters of intent to play for the Paladins beginning in 2004.

The four players include Greenville products Nick Mershon and Spence Gibbs, Matt Klinker from Cincinnati, Ohio, and William Stembridge from Gwinnett, Ga.

Mershon, from Greenville's St. Joseph's High School, is a 6-3, 190-pound infielder rated by Baseball America Magazine as the number one recruit in South Carolina. In a recent tournament among the top 250 prospects in the nation, Mershon batted .352 with three doubles and a triple.

Gibbs, a product of Hillcrest High School, is a 5-8, 150-pound infielder.

Klinker, a 6-5 right-handed pitcher from Lakota West High School, helped lead his team to the West Regional Final in the state tournament in Ohio. As a junior he went 5-1 with a 1.84 ERA while striking out 62 over 49.1 innings of work.

Stembridge, a 6-2, 170-pound outfielder, is a product of Marist High School. A two-sport athlete in football and baseball, he helped lead his baseball team to the state championship during his junior year.

"Our goal was to sign an infielder and a pitcher, and we were able to sign them along with another infielder and an outfielder, so we are very happy to get them all," said Smith on Wednesday.

Furman opens the regular season on February 8 with a doubleheader against High Point.