The Harper College baseball team won 24 games in 2014, and now four players from that team will be continuing their college baseball careers at four-year schools. Starting pitchers Steven Yfantis (Prospect Heights, Ill./Wheeling) and Brent Kiesel (Streamwood, Ill./Streamwood), catcher Zack Jones (/Maine South) and second baseman Neal Ori (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) all recently committed.
Yfantis will play for NCAA Div. II Colorado State University-Pueblo. The right-handed pitcher went 5-4 with a 4.13 ERA in 2014. He led the Hawks in several pitching categories including games started (9), innings pitched (56 2/3) and complete games (8).
Kiesel will play for NAIA Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Ill. The right-handed pitcher went 4-3 with a 4.70 ERA in 2014 and earned Second Team All-Region honors. Kiesel's brother, Ryan, played for the Trolls from 2010-13.
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Jones joins Kiesel, as he recently committed to Trinity Christian College as well. As a freshman, Jones was Harper's starting catcher and hit .297 with 13 RBIs in 37 games. He earned Second Team All-Conference honors for the Hawks and was outstanding defensively behind the plate, throwing out a nation-best 19 runners attempting to steal.
Ori will continue his collegiate career at NCAA Div. III University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He started 44 games for the Hawks and drove in 14 runs and led the team in walks with 21. Ori was a steady presence at second base with a .957 field percentage and only committed six errors.
