Jan. 8, 2007

Slippery Rock, Pa. - Rock head coach Jeff Messer announced Monday that three student-athletes have signed NCAA Division II national letters of intent with the Rock for the 2007-08 season.

The newest additions include infielder Anthony Heaps (Landenberg/Avon Grove H.S.), catcher-outfielder Mitchell Monas (Waynesburg/Waynesburg H.S.) and catcher Blake Shortall (Bethlehem/Freedom H.S.).

Heaps (6-foot-2, 175 pounds) has compiled a .404 career batting average, hit 10 home runs and accumulated 45 RBIs during his three-year scholastic career with a .523 on base percentage and a .783 slugging percentage. As a pitcher, he has a 4-0 record with three saves and a 0.85 ERA.

A three-year starter for Avon Grove High School, Heaps earned first-team all-league honors in both his sophomore and junior seasons, led the team with five HRs as a junior and was second on the team with four HRs as a sophomore. He received honorable mention all-league honors as a freshman.

Heaps also played in the Keystone State Games throughout his high school career, as well as the prestigious Carpenter Cup competition.

Monas (6-foot, 190 pounds) earned Pittsburgh Post-Gazette all-section honors as an outfielder in 2005 and as a catcher in 2006. He hit .481 with four HRs as a junior at Waynesburg and .381 for the Carmichaels American Legion team last summer.

Monas is a three-year starter for Waynesburg and played for the Allegheny Pirates squad this fall. He also participated in the Keystone and Beast of the East showcase events, as well as the American Legion East-West All-Star Game.

Monas also excels in the classroom; he currently carries a 3.9 grade point average.

Shortall (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) batted .353 as a sophomore for Avon Grove and hit .300 with a .400 slugging percentage last summer for the F.B.T.A.A. American Senior Legion team.

In addition to his career at Freedom, Shortall earned Lehigh Valley and Northampton County American Legion all-star honors as a member of the Freedom Patriots and Lehigh Valley Prospects and has been selected to play this summer in the Dodgertown World Series in Vero Beach, Fla.

Shortall, who anticipates majoring in sport management at SRU, currently carries a 3.7 grade point average in the classroom. The new recruits join a program headed for the 22nd successive season by Jeff Messer, one of the most successful coaches in NCAA Division II history. Messer currently owns a 663-376-4 record as The Rock's head coach.

The Rock, which is tied for 39th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Division II preseason national poll, had a 34-22 record and finished third in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs in 2006. SRU is scheduled to open its 2007 season on Feb. 20 at NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional rival Salem International (W. Va.).

The 2007 schedule opens with 19 straight road games -- 12 of which will be played as part of the annual spring-break trip to Fort Myers, Fla. -- before SRU hosts Mansfield in the home opener March 20 at Jack Critchfield Park.

The Rock's 2007 schedule includes a total of 15 games against teams ranked in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll.

SRU will play a single nine-inning game vs. No. 7 Ashland and two single games vs. No. 19 West Chester during its spring trip. West Chester is the defending NCAA D-II North Atlantic Regional champion.

The Rock also has a four-game, home-and-home series scheduled vs. No. 29 California U. of Pa., as well as Shippensburg and Shepherd, both of which were among the teams that received votes in the preseason poll.

California and Shippensburg are PSAC-Western Division rivals of SRU and joined the Green and White as the division's representatives in last spring's PSAC playoffs.

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania's premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.