The roster for the University of Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars first-year baseball program is nearly complete.
Coach Brian Grunzke has added 11 players this spring — five with local ties — bringing the total number of recruits to 17.
Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Will Pufundt and Prairie View Stevenson’s Ted Heiser are left-handed hitters and infielders among the eight high school seniors in Grunzke’s latest group of signees. Rochester’s Seth Warren, Auburn’s Jeremy Ator, Crystal Lake South’s Easton Kowalski and Edwardsville’s Bill McFarland are right-handed pitchers. Trevor Johnson is an infielder from Catholic Memorial High in Waukesha, Wis.
Two players have previous college experience. Paul Phillips is a right-handed pitcher who played at Kankakee Community College. Infielder and Williamsville graduate Clint Jeffers last played at SCI in 2008.
The team was featured in a May 13, 2010, article in The State Journal-Register.
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