Baseball Signs Two, Including Murphysboro Native Charlie Weber
11/21/2004 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
Nov. 21, 2004
By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Nearby Murphysboro pitcher Charlie Weber is one of two recruits who signed national letters of intent to play baseball for Southern Illinois University in 2006. Along with Weber, pitcher/shortstop Cody Adams also committed to SIU.
A left-hander, Weber stands at 6-0, 210, and was a first-team River to River Ohio all-conference pick a year ago. Sporting an 8-2 record and 1.27 ERA, he struck out 94 batters to 26 walks, while pinning his opponents to a .174 average. Weber also gave up 16 runs, including 10 earned in 55 innings.
Additionally, Weber helped lead the Red Devils to a IHSA Class AA Regional Championship, after striking out 16 batters in a win over Marion. Although it lost in the IHSA Class AA Sectional, Murphysboro's 24 wins marked the most in school history.
Weber also plays football and basketball for the Red Devils. This past year on the gridiron, he was a second-team all-conference quarterback who surpassed 3,000 career passing yards. He was also his team's most valuable player.
"We're pleased Charlie decided to stay close to home," said Saluki head coach Dan Callahan. "We have tracked his progress the past several years, and after watching his strong junior year, we feel his best years are yet to come. He's an intense competitor and we can definitely see added velocity in the future."
Meanwhile, Adams is from Viola, Ill., and joins the Dawgs from Sherrard High School. Standing at 6-2, 180, he was named both all-conference and all-area in each of his first three prep seasons. Last year, Adams collected nine wins and struck out 121 batters in 72 innings en route to an outstanding 0.61 ERA.
Offensively, Adams hit .402 with seven home runs in 2004, as he's hit .368 or better for three straight years.
"This year the state of Illinois was unusual in that we saw quite a few 2005 grads who are true two-way guys," Callahan said. "We feel Cody is the best of the bunch and that our track record with dual position athletes is solid. Cody has what it takes to follow in the footsteps of former Saluki great Luke Nelson and present standout P.J. Finigan."
"Overall, we are very excited about our two signees," added Callahan. "Between Charlie and Cody, you have 17 wins their junior year, with a considerable amount of strikeouts and low ERAs. We feel strongly that both will contribute significantly as freshmen."