From staff reports
Globe Sports Writer
JOPLIN, Mo. —
Catcher Dallas Burke, a transfer from the University of Iowa, has joined Missouri Southern’s baseball team.
The Lions also signed eight junior college and two high school players to complement their early signees from last November.
“We feel like this recruiting class is a great group to continue to help our program grow into one of the best in the MIAA,” Lions head coach Bryce Darnell said in a press release. “We signed a good combination of high school and juco players. Our staff is very excited to get the fall started.”
Burke, 6-foot-1, 200-pound left-handed hitter from Davenport, Iowa, batted .253 overall and .294 in Big Ten Conference play last season. Burke appeared in 39 games, and 20 of his 21 starts were as designated hitter.
The previous year Burke received extended playing time after an injury sidelined the Hawkeyes’ starter. He hit .293 in 35 games — .367 in league play — and was named to the conference’s all-freshman team.
The Lions also signed a junior college catcher — Kevin Burgi from Garden City (Kan.) Community College where he hit .320 and drove in 20 runs last season. He is the son of John Burgi, former Carthage High School head coach and now head coach at Valley View High School in Jonesboro, Ark.
Four junior college pitchers have signed with the Lions — right-handers Cody Griebling (Madison, Wis.) and Ryan Wheat (Jefferson, Mo.) and lefties Grant Conrad (Labette CC) and Michael Mudd (Three Rivers, Mo.).
Griebling was 7-2 with a 2.90 earned run average in two seasons at Madison and helped the Wolfpack reach the NJCAA Division II World Series this year. Conrad led the Labette staff in innings this spring.
Three outfielders signed with the Lions — Johnson County CC teammates Harrison Gerber and Ben Millard and Jordan Kerbs from Labette.
Gerber hit .420, drove in 43 runs and stole 22 bases, and Millard batted .370 with eight home runs, 65 RBI and 23 stolen bases this season as Johnson County won the Jayhawk Conference East Division.
Kerbs, who prepped at Nevada, batted .333 with 17 doubles, 45 runs and 15 stolen bases this season at Labette.
Infielder Tee Helsel from Branson and right-hander Tanner Kaza from Rogers, Ark., are the prep signees.
Helsel stroked a school-record 123 hits in his career for the Pirates, and he ranked third in batting average (.394) and doubles (27). He hit .505 his senior season with six homers, 37 RBI and 27 stolen bases.
Kaza earned all-conference honors this spring at Rogers.
