COLLEGE BASEBALL

Another team, another winner for Pat McCrory, who has helped his new college team to the NAIA World Series.

McCrory, now a senior at Embry-Riddle in Daytona, Fla., helped the Eagles to a win over Auburn-Montgomery Thursday night in the regional at Embry-Riddle's home field, allowing the Eagles to go 3-0 in the regional and earn the NAIA trip.

Like the Division I-A World Series in Omaha, Neb., the NAIA World Series is in Lewiston, Idaho at Harris Field on Lewis-Clark State College each year. It begins next Friday, May 22, and runs for a week, concluding May 29.

This will be the 53rd annual NAIA World Series. It's a 10-team, double-elimination tournament.

Pat is the son of Pat and Johnnie McCrory of Kilgore, a 2005 Kilgore High School graduate.

McCrory, who helped Kilgore deep into the playoffs in 2004 and is a former News Herald player of the year, was an NJCAA All-American Navarro College in 2006. He was courted by the University of Texas, where he played for the 2007 and '08 seasons, but elected to go a different path for his senior year.

He transferred to E-R and has been nothing less than sensational since, helping McCRORY win a Sun Conference championship and at one point, playing all nine positions in a single game in a April 21 win over Florida Tech. McCrory closed out the feat, and E-R's 9-3 victory, by throwing a scoreless ninth inning.

McCrory's Embry-Riddle coach, David Therneau, is ironically signed up to be the pitching coach of the Kilgore based East Texas Pump Jacks this year. The Pump Jacks play in the Texas Collegiate League, and begin their second season June 5 at home at Driller Park against Victoria.