Italiano, McCreery make promising debuts

Penn baseball finished second in the Lou Gehrig Division with a 12-8 record, the second best Ivy League record in 2002-2003.

In addition to solid pitching, the Quakers featured one of the top three offenses in the Ancient Eight.

Penn ranked second in batting average (.301), slugging percentage (.445), walks and on-base percentage, and third in runs scored, runs batted in and home runs.

Two of the Red and Blue's most potent offensive weapons - Nick Italiano and Andrew McCreery -- are now playing baseball professionally in the Minor League.

McCreery was drafted in the 32nd round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, who also selected Penn pitcher Ben Krantz in the 15th round. Italiano was not drafted but signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Both Italiano and McCreery played in the Gulf Coast League this summer for the Phillies and Diamondbacks, respectively.

Italiano graduated Penn with an impressive baseball resume, earning awards such as All-East Coast Athletic Conference, All-Ivy for four years, and 2003 South Jersey Athlete of the Year. Offensively, Italiano earned the 2003 Blair Batting Title for the Ivy Leaguer with the highest batting average (.420) and, in 2003, he became Penn's all-time hits leader.

Italiano appeared in 12 games for the Gulf Coast League Phillies, notching 10 hits in 40 at-bats, earning a .250 batting average. The recent Penn graduate scored five runs, got seven RBI, three walks and a stolen base.

McCreery, the 2003 Ivy League Player of the Year, went to Yakima, Washington after being drafted, for five days of instruction camp. McCreery then went to play in the rookie league's Missoula Osprey in Missoula, Montana where he roomed with his former teammate, Krantz.

McCreery played third base and pitched for the Quakers, but he will concentrate on third base for the Diamondbacks. He was also heavily scouted by the New York Mets.

And after his dominant performance in the Gulf Coast League, the Mets likely regret passing up on McCreery in the draft.

In 23 games and 62 at-bats, McCreery scored 12 runs, got 20 hits, including four doubles and a home run, recorded three RBI, seven walks and two stolen bases.

Among the eight players who played in over 20 games for the Gulf Coast League Diamondbacks, McCreery had the highest batting average (.323), and the second highest average overall, behind Cristobal Melendez, who batted .379 in 29 at bats.

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