BATON ROUGE, La. — Ray Wright, an infielder from Okaloosa-Walton (Fla.) Community College, and David Shank, a pitcher from Sacramento (Calif.) City College, have signed letters-of-intent with the LSU baseball team. Wright and Shank will enroll at LSU in January, and they will be eligible to play during the 2000 season.
Wright, a native of Charlotte Hall, Md., was named the 1999 National Junior College Defensive Player of the Year. The 5-11, 185-pound all-conference selection batted .395 with 10 home runs and 59 RBI, and he established an Okaloosa-Walton single-season record with 50 stolen bases.
Shank, a 6-3, 210-pound right-hander, pitched on a limited basis at Sacramento City due to an arm injury. As a senior at Miramonte High School in Orinda, Calif., he posted a 9-1 mark and a 0.43 ERA in 85 innings with 145 strikeouts. Shank is expected to be healthy and ready to pitch this spring.
LSU opens the 2000 season Feb. 12 versus Virginia in Alex Box Stadium.