Craig Noto is in his sixth season in Brooklyn as assistant coach at Long Island University. In addition to serving as recruiting coordinator, Noto also focuses on practice preparation, the evaluation of scouting reports and will assume the role of pitching coach in 2010. Check out his blog here.
Spotlight
Player of the Week Austin Krum Dallas Baptist University
Junior Austin Krum from Littleton, Colorado is Ping!Baseball's
Spotlight Player for the week. Krum, a Third
Team All Ping! Team member, has been a two-year starter
for the Patriots baseball team and was first team All-Independent
in 2006. Krum plays centerfield and bats leadoff for the upstart
Patriots who are looking into getting an at-large bid to the
NCAA's this year after being snubbed in 2006.
Krum has played in every game over the past two seasons in
centerfield for the Patriots. He started 45 games as a freshman
and started all 56 games last year.
Over the final four games of the 2006 season Krum hit at
a .500 clip with four homeruns, and seven RBIs, raising his
average 10 points to finish the season at .368 (the highest
on the team). Krum also led the Patriots in hits with 89 and
stolen bases with 19. He also wasn't afraid to "take
one for the team", getting plunked 13 times to assist
in setting his on base percentage at a lofty .460.
He improved on his impressive freshman season by raising
his batting average over 40 points and doubled his homeruns
(4 to 9) and stolen basebases (7 to 19). His skills earned
him an invitation to try out for the 2006 USA National Baseball
Team.
Head Baseball Coach, Eric Newman, said, "Austin is becoming
a great player. It is exciting to see the success that he
is beginning to have as a result of his presence here at DBU."
