Baseball 8/3/2020 3:42:00 PM Ryan Shumaker

PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico baseball recently finalized a signing class of 20 newcomers for the 2020-21 season.

Head coach Riley Price and company will welcome a talented class to the program including 14 transfers that will figure to make an immediate impact on the diamond for the Hounds. Price and his staff displayed a balanced effort in the revitalization of the roster as they will add a total of 10 pitchers and 10 batters to the club.

“With only two seniors returning we’re still fairly young as far as returners go, therefore I think the newcomers will really help to push and develop our talented young returners while adding some valuable experience to the mix,” Coach Price said. “I’m anxious to see how this group of returners will respond, especially our talented freshman group from last year and those six freshman that will be arriving this fall.”

The new crop of Hounds will look to mesh with a young roster quickly as Eastern New Mexico posted a record of 3-19 in a shortened 2020 season. An immediate improvement should be felt on the mound for the Hounds in the spring of 2021 as Price and his staff will welcome multiple big arms to the pitching staff, including Damian Acosta and Bradden Kennard, who each pitched meaningful innings for their junior college programs in the spring of 2020.

Acosta of Garden City Community College and Kennard of Odessa College will both bring experience along with them to the Hounds from winning junior college programs to help a staff that posted an ERA of 9.07 in 2020. Acosta and Kennard will be joined as newcomers with left-hander Ethan Earhart, who will transfer to Eastern New Mexico from UNC-Charlotte, and will hopefully provide quality compliments to returning starters Ethan Coombes and Josh Lewis for the 2021 season.

“As we lacked in depth, consistency, and overall experience on the mound last season, it was vital that we brought in the large number of talented arms that we did,” Coach Price said. “They’ve also experienced great success at their previous institutions, which I’m excited to see them build upon and continue here as Greyhounds. This group adds not only that competitive edge and “bulldog” mentality we look for on the mound, but several guys who I expect will step right in and serve as team leaders both on and off the field.”

Price and his staff will bring in the same level of college-ready experience to the lineup this spring, including multiple individuals that have seen meaningful time at multiple positions throughout their careers.

Cole Luedeking and Nick Schifftner, who both posted quality numbers at their respective junior colleges, will headline the batters for the incoming class. Luedeking hit .286 at Rock Valley College in 2020 in a shortened season while Schifftner hit .341 and led his Highland Community College squad with six homeruns in 2019. Both players will add pop to the Greyhound lineup in 2021, alongside Andres Quintana, who hit .300 in just 16 games played for Otero Junior College last spring.

“What excites me about this group aside from being great additions to our team culture, is the versatility and athleticism they bring,” Coach Price said. “Most, if not all, have the ability to play multiple positions at a high level, so this should really increase our overall depth and ability to manipulate our lineup as needed.”

The balance and depth of the 2020-21 signing class for Eastern New Mexico baseball will be put to good use early and often, as the program continued to exercise it’s reputation for finding quality student-athletes from all across the country. Coach Price and his staff will bring in players representing six different states, including ten players from Texas and four from New Mexico, as well as one from Canada.

“We will have 20 newcomers joining our 20-plus returning players this year,” Coach Price said, “This is not a typical ratio from year-to-year, but I think we have the right mixture of the two and should make for a pretty special group when we unite toward a common goal. I think we are going to see our young returners develop at a much faster rate because of the new competition that surrounds them and I’m so excited to get after it this fall and witness our guys come together as one.”