BATON ROUGE — Three Louisiana natives and an all-state shortstop from Florida have signed national letters-of-intent with the LSU baseball program.
Catcher Matt Liuzza of Rummel High School in New Orleans, left-handed pitcher Greg Smith of Alexandria (La.) Senior High School, right-handed pitcher Jered Salazar of Pearl River (Miss.) Community College and shortstop Matt Horwath of Lake Mary (Fla.) High School are scheduled to enroll at LSU in the fall of 2002.
Liuzza was a first-team all-state performer last season, leading Rummel to a 32-4 mark. The 6-1, 190-pound catcher hit .414 with 10 homers and 41 RBI, and he threw out five of eight base runners attempting to steal.
Smith, a 6-2 southpaw, led Alexandria to the Class 4A state championship game last season, posting an 8-2 record and a 0.84 ERA. He worked 58 innings, recording 93 strikeouts and 25 walks.
Salazar, a product of Teurlings Catholics High School in Lafayette, La., pitched at Bossier Parish (La.) Community College last season before transferring to Pearl River CC. Salazar recorded a 12-2 mark and a 2.84 ERA at Bossier Parish CC, posting 86 strikeouts and 12 walks in 99 innings.
Horwath, a 5-10, 175-pound shortstop, was rated the No. 33 player at the Perfect Game Showcase in St. Petersburg, Fla., last summer. He batted .359 last season at Lake Mary High and considered offers from Florida, Tennessee and Georgia Tech before signing with LSU.
The baseball fall signing period continues through Wednesday, Nov. 21. LSU expects to sign as many as 15 prospects prior to the deadline.