NU baseball welcomes back pro playing alumni

by Joshua Maloni
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, September 17, 2005

Niagara University Baseball Coach Chris Chernisky speaks with former players (from left) James Avery, Dan Griffin and Reed Eastley. All three were drafted professionally and played in a summer league program.

Coach Chris Chernisky and the Niagara University Purple Eagle baseball team welcomed back drafted alums James Avery, Read Eastley and Dan Griffin Saturday. The players, back from summer league ball, are on their way to developmental play next week. They returned to campus to see their “family.”

“These guys are like brothers,” Griffin said.

“These guys are amazing,” Avery added.

Griffin, a pitcher from Schenectady, led all NCAA Division I hurlers in strikeouts as a sophomore last season with 120 over 78.1 innings. He played for the San Francisco Giants Class A Short Season team, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoe.

Avery led the Purple Eagles in earned run average last season, with a paltry 3.42. The pitcher from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, played for the Cincinnati Reds Rookie Class Team, the GCL Reds.

Designated hitter/third baseman Eastley, of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, hit .272 for Niagara last season. He played for the Seattle Mariners Class A Short Season team, the Everett Aqua Sox.

The players’ achievements, “Gives the program notoriety,” Eastley said, pointing to players drafted in previous years, as well as himself and his peers.

“Any time that you can have players have the opportunity to play professional ball, it brings a lot of positive light to our university and our program,” Chernisky said.

It also helps encourage current athletes.

“It’s great to have them around our baseball players,” Chernisky said, noting their hard work and dedication.

Of Note

•Chris Begg, who played for the Purple Eagles from 1999 to 2001, is with the San Francisco Giants’ Norwich Navigators, a Double AA team in the Eastern League in Norwich, Conn. – PurpleEagles.com

•Josh McCurdy, who played on Monteagle Ridge from 2001-03, is part of the Baltimore Orioles organization, playing for the Frederick Keys in Frederick, Md. The Keys are a Class A team in the Carolina League. – PurpleEagles.com