Georgia Southwestern catcher Paschel Poston and pitcher Corey Hawes are representing the Hurricanes in prestigious collegiate wood bat leagues this summer. Poston will be facing some of the top collegiate players from across the country as a member of the Covington (Va.) Lumberjacks in the Valley Baseball League. Hawes is playing for the Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

Poston started 41 games behind the plate this spring for GSW as a sophomore. He finished with a .287 batting average, two home runs and 20 runs batted in. The Jupiter, Fla. native drew 31 walks (ranked second on the team) and posted a .428 on-base percentage.

Valley Baseball League rosters are peppered with NCAA Division I players. Joining Poston on the Lumberjacks roster are players from Florida State, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech and South Florida.

As stated on the Valley League website, the league was formed in 1923 and became an NCAA-sanctioned league in 1961. Although the NCAA no longer has direct involvement with summer leagues, the league still operates under NCAA rules.  The league adopted wooden bats in 1993. 

The VBL is funded in part by a grant from Major League Baseball and is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, a national affiliation of summer leagues.  The league has produced well over 1,000 professional baseball players, including a record 79 former players drafted in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

The Lumberjacks open their season on Friday (June 4) and play a 44-game schedule with the regular season ending August 2.

Follow Poston and the Lumberjacks this summer at www.valleyleaguebaseball.com/teams/covington/index.

Hawes posted a team-low 2.32 ERA for GSW this spring as a junior. He finished with a 2-2 record and two saves in 24 appearances out of the bullpen. The Eatontown, N.J. native struck out 31 batters in 42.2 innings and held opponents to a team-low .252 batting average.

Hawes is joined by Division I players from Rutgers, Penn State, Rice, Texas Christian and Indiana on the Mountaineers roster.

As stated on the New England Collegiate Baseball League website, the NECBL was founded in 1993, under the direction of George Foster, former Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets All-Star and Major League home run leader and league founder Emmy Award-winning television producer/director Joseph Consentino. Play started in 1994 and today the NECBL has become a strong twelve team league that plays in all six New England states and recruits players attending U.S colleges from New England, the other forty-four States and foreign countries.

The Mountaineers open their season on Friday (June 4) and play an eight-week, 42-game schedule with the regular season ending July 31.

Follow Hawes and the Mountaineers this summer at www.thevermontmountaineers.com.