BASEBALL NEWS

LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF SPORTS INFORMATION

Sports Release                                                                                             May 2, 2008

Railsplitter Baseball Adds Two

Jeff Ludlow

Brandon Neff

HARROGATE, TN -- Friday afternoon Head Baseball Coach Jeff Sziksai announced the addition of two new student athletes that will join the Railsplitter baseball program this coming fall. 

Pitchers Brandon Neff and Jeff Ludlow will both come in with experience after competing at a high level in the extremely competitive Florida junior college conference. “I feel really good about these two young men as I expect them to come in and have an immediate impact.  One of our objectives was to bolster our pitching staff and create a competitive atmosphere on the mound.  We have done that with the signing of these two, but we are not finished” said Sziksai.

Jeff Ludlow joins the LMU Baseball program after two years at St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, FL.  A 46^th round draft pick by the New York Yankees out of high school, the 6’2”, 210 lb Ludlow posted 48 strikeouts in 56 innings of work this year for Head Coach Dave Pano.  His efforts helped to lead the Titans to a Suncoast Conference championship, and a 36-17 overall record.  Sziksai added, “Jeff has great stuff, and he has the ability to be on of our top arms.  He has an upper 80’s to low 90’s fastball, and is extremely competitive on the mound.  We expect him to come and compete at a high level next year.”

Brandon Neff joins the Splitters after a very solid two career at Sante Fe Community College in Gainesville, FL.  This past year for head coach Johnny Wiggs, the 5’11, 190lb Neff posted a 3-2 record while compiling 37 strikeouts in only 31 innings, a stat that ranked him among the top pitchers in Florida junior colleges in strikeouts per nine innings.  His year was highlighted by a 10 strikeout complete game performance down the stretch against Florida Community College of Jacksonville.  When asked about Brandon Neff, Sziksai commented, “I am extremely excited about Brandon and his ability.  In addition to having really good stuff, he has great makeup and he is a great competitor, which makes him a perfect fit for our program.  He will help us right away.”

Sziksai and his staff are very encouraged by the signings of Neff and Ludlow, and expect to announce the addition of several more athletes in the coming weeks.  “I am really excited about the momentum we have created on the recruiting trail,” commented Sziksai, “and we hope to ride that momentum through the next few weeks as we complete next years class.  Our objective was to create competition at every position, and we are well on our way to doing that.”

The Railsplitter program returns to action with fall practice in late August.

-LMU-

For additional comments please contact,
Head Coach:  Jeff Sziksai
Phone:  (423) 869-6345