NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State baseball head coach Jon Paul Davis has announced the signing of seven players to his 2010 class – three area high school players and four junior college transfers.

The three area players are outfielder Austin Alexander of St. Mary’s High School in Natchitoches and pitchers Josh Sims and Jacob Roark out of LaSalle High School in Olla.

The four transfers include infielder Raymond Frias of Odessa College, infielder Ryan Westbrook of Panola Junior College, pitcher Joe Scanio of St. Charles Community College, and outfielder Ryan Keele of Iowa Central Community College.

“It’s a really good start to this year’s recruiting class,” said Davis.  “(Jeff McCannon) Mac and (Philip) Miller did an outstanding job of identifying and evaluating some really talented guys.  The one thing you notice, they’re all big, physical and very athletic.  They’ll fit in to what we’re trying to do and they’re all high quality young men and students and will continue to make NSU proud both on and off the field.”

Alexander (6-foot-4, 190 lbs.) earned All-Area and All-District honors in 2009 after hitting .366 with five home runs, 12 doubles, 31 runs batted in and 22 runs scored.  He was selected to play in the Under Armour team and will play in Arizona in January.

“You look at Alexander and can tell that he hasn’t even begun to tap into his strength,” said Davis.  “He’ll continue to get bigger and stronger and will develop into a quality middle of the order guy.  He runs extremely well for a big guy and has excellent arm strength.”

Sims (6-foot-2, 175 lbs) is a two-way star for LaSalle High and hit .424 with five home runs with 20 RBIs, five triples, nine doubles, and 21 stolen bases his junior season.  He also compiled a 9-3 record on the mound with a 1.75 ERA in 52 innings pitched and struckout 80 batters.

He earned first team Class A All-State honors as a pitcher as well as first team All-Cenla pitcher and fist team LBCA All-State Pitcher.

“Sims is an outstanding athlete,” said Davis.  “We feel like he’s got a chance to be a force on the mound.  He made quite a jump since this summer and has really shown himself to be a Division I talent.  He’s an upper 80s guy right now and will only continue to throw harder.”

Roark (6-foot-3, 190 lbs) was his district’s MVP as a sophomore and earned first team Class C All-State honors as a pitcher.  His junior year, he earned District 3-1A All-District honors as well as being named honorable mention all-state and all-Cenla.

In his junior season, Roark hit .333 with two home runs, 14 RBIs, and had 15 stolen bases to go along with five doubles and two triples.  He also compiled a 5-4 record on the bump with a 1.86 ERA in 56.1 innings pitched.  He struck out 85 batters and walked just 11.

“Jacob is another guy we saw this summer and fell like he’ll have the ability to come in an pitch for us as a freshman,” said Davis.  “He’s a big and strong guy that throws in the upper 80s and touching 90.   He’s a very good athlete who also plays football and basketball.  He can play shortstop when not pitching.”

“We’re very excited to have three area guys signing with us,” said Davis.  “They’re definitely three of the top players in north Louisiana and the entire state.

Joe Scanio will join the Demons after completing his final season at St. Charles Community College.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound righty is a talented young pitcher who has outstanding work ethic.  A graduate of Hazelwood West High School in Florissant, Missouri, Scanio compiled a 4-1 record his senior year with a 2.33 ERA.  He struck out 33 batters in 30 innings pitched and also split time between firstbase and thirdbase when not on the mound.

“Joe is a big righthanded pitcher out of the St. Louis area,” said Davis.  “He has really good arm strength with his fastball hitting the upper 80s and low 90s.  He can be a front line weekend rotation guy for us.”

Raymond Frias (5-foot-11, 195 lbs) is a native of the Bronx, New York and will come to NSU via North Carolina-Greensboro and Odessa College.

As a freshman at UNC-Greensboro, Frias ranked sixth on the team in hitting with a .270 batting aveage in 34 games with 30 starts.  He transferred to Odessa College where he’ll play in 2010 before joining the Demons.

“He’s a true baseball player and really likes to play the game and knows the game well,” said Davis if Frias.  “He runs well and has good hands and a strong arm.  He has the ability to split the gap and can be a very good run producer for us.  We’re very excited to have him joining us.”

Westbrook (6-foot-2, 180 lbs) hit .268 as a freshman at Panola Junior College last spring.  He also belted two home runs and three doubles while playing in 27 games with 16 starts.

“Ryan is going to be a quality dual guy for us,” said Davis.  “He’s the starting third baseman at Panola and will also be their closer.  He’s very offensive and has a very good arm that has been clocked at 92.”

Keele, a sophomore outfielder from Bellevue, Neb., batted .328 last season as he split time in the outfield for the Tritons. Keele has really come into his own as he had a very strong fall season for the Tritons. His fall was highlighted by his three-hit game against the University of Iowa in which he hit a game-winning three-run home run in the eighth inning to give the Tritons a 6-5 win.

“Ryan is extremely athletic,” said Davis.  “He’s a plus runner, has plus arm strength and plus power.  We’re really excited about him.  He can be a quality dual guy for us who is also a middle reliever type guy.  He can be a force for us driving in runs.”