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Jan. 17, 2008
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Head Coach William Gardner is getting ready to begin his second season as skipper of the Fighting Hawks. In just his second shot at getting commitments, Gardner landed three big players, all signing National Letters of Intent in the early signing period. UMES adds defensive and offensive stars in the form of Michael Turner, Stokey Jackson and Dajuan Stallworth. Turner (Saint Michael's Md./Saint Michael's H.S., 6-0, 195, R/R, INF.) is a local superstar. He was named an All-Conference, All-Region and All-State infielder his junior year. In just 64 at bats Turner had 16 extra base hits and 29 RBI. The speedy Turner was 12-13 in stolen base attempts. A three sport athlete, he also plays basketball and soccer. He is the son of Sabrina Turner. Jackson (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone H.S., 6-0, 165, R/R, OF) was a member of the Class 4A North Region High School Championship runner-up team at Thomas Stone. He participated in the National Amateur Baseball Federation championship games with Cheney Enterprises this past summer. In that event he hit .550 with 40 percent of his hits coming for extra bases. He is the son of Stokey III and Jacqueline Jackson. Stallworth (Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside H.S., 6-0, 175, S/R, OF) batted .398 last season. He stole 22 bases in 22 attempts, with it leading the Beach District Conference. He has lettered all three years of baseball and once in football. Over the summer Stallworth again led his league in stolen bases. The incoming captain for his senior year earned the Bayside H.S. Student-Athlete Award and is listed among Who's Who Among High School Student Athletes. He is an honor roll student and a National Honor-Roll student for 2006-07. He is active in the community, mentoring young students and is the son of Michael and Angela Stallworth. "The signing of these three players will really help us offensively and on the base paths," said Gardner. "They all swing the bat well and their signings are a huge step in the right direction, helping us to elevate the talent level on the team each year. All three will help force the returnees to step it up and these three will definitely challenge for starting positions. They all have a high baseball maturity level and that is something in which we have to improve upon every year for us to play at a high level."
UMES kicks off this baseball season on February 24 at home against Rider. |
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