Adam Pennington who has been the ace of the Shawnee Illinois HS pitching staff for the past three seasons finally made his decision last week as he signed to play for Coach Stacy Burkey at Three Rivers this fall.

"It was a tough decision as I was fortunate enough to have a few other offers," Pennington said"  "The coaching staff at Three Rivers really made me feel at home and I liked the campus and the program."

Pennington was dominant on the mound last summer for the Lids Missouri Bulls as he posted a 4-1 record in eight starts with a 1.89 ERA.   He pitched 33 1/3 innings allowing only nine earned runs, striking out 46 batters and walking only nine.  "Playing for the Bulls was a great experience as I don't think I would have had this kind of exposure anywhere else," Pennington said.  "They pushed me and I pitched against some very talented players which only made me better."

His head coach ironically for the Bulls was his older brother Todd who knows a little something about pitching himself as he was an All American at Southeast Missouri State.  He is excited for his brother and has no doubt he'll pitch at the D1 level at some point.

"I think Three Rivers is a great spot for Adam as he has some things to still work on especially just adding some size to his body," Todd said.  "He has some nasty stuff for sure.  He is about 85 on his fast ball but his curve ball and slider are nasty and he's working on a change up." 

The coaching staff at Three Rivers really like Pennington when they saw him during the summer but they had to battle a couple other places and are happy to land the 6' lefty to their staff.  "We think Adam has tons of upside," said coach Joe Scarano.  "Both he and Alex will be great additions to our program and we're excited about signing them."

Pennington becomes the second Bull in a week to sign with the Raiders as Alex Heuring inked as well.   "I signed last week and Alex called me to tell me he was signing this week.  I think we'll end up being roomates which is awesome!," Adam said.

There is no doubt this pitcher/catcher combination will help Three Rivers the next few years.  Everyone associated with the Bulls is looking forward to watching these two the next several years.