Friday, February 7, 2014

7 Days until First Pitch - #7 Luke Gragg

It's 7 days until the 2014 season's first pitch and the first three game home series against the Ohio Bobcats.

#7 Luke Gragg

Class: Senior
Hometown: Moravian Falls, N.C.
High School: Wilkes Central HS
Height / Weight: 5-6 / 165
Position: C/OF
B/T: L/R


Note: Selected as the fourth "Leggett No. 7 Legacy" recipient prior to the 2014 season ... Was announced a the "Celebration of Catamount Baseball" banquet on Jan. 18.

2013 (Junior): Saw action in 52 of Western Carolina's 59 games on the season, making 35 starts including 28 as the designated hitter and seven in left field ... Finished the season batting .293 overall with 33 of his 39 hits going as singles ... Tallied six extra base hits including five doubles and one home run at Davidson (March 9) ... Drove in a career-high 26 runs ... Hit .303 (23-of-76) in Southern Conference play with four extra base hits and 17 RBI ... Recorded eight multi-hit games including seven, two-hit outings, while also posting six multiple RBI games including matching a career-best four times with three RBI ... Collected a career-high four hits in a perfect 4-for-4 performance at Appalachian State (May 16); Summer League: Played for the Winchester (Va.) Royals in the Valley League ... Finished the summer ranked second on the team with a .302 (32-for-106) batting average with five doubles and 18 runs scored ... Played in 35 of the team's 43 games on the summer spending most of the time behind the plate ... Recorded nine multi-hit games including two, three-hit outings ... Finished 5-for-9 in stolen bases including swiping three on July 25 against the Covington Lumberjacks ... Earned both Mid-season and Post-season All-Star recognition in the Valley League as the designated hitter, garnering a second-team nod on the post-season squad.

2012 (Sophomore): Played in 37 games including seven starts as the designated hitter ... Hit .327 collectively on the season with 17 hits, all singles, and scored 11 runs ... Had four multiple-hit games and three, two-RBI outings, recording eight RBI on the season ... Was WCU's most-used pinch hitter, finishing 6-for-21 with a .286 batting average coming off the bench ... Batted .341 (15-of-44) against right-handed pitching ... Reached base safely in five-straight games for his season-long streak ... Finished 3-for-3 in stolen bases ... Scored a career-best three times in the second home win over Iona (March 3), walking twice and twice being hit by a pitch ... Collected a career-high three hits in a 3-for-4 outing against Clemson (March 14), driving in a pair of runs in the 8-4 home win; Summer League: Played for the Lake Norman Copperheads in the Southern Collegiate League during the summer of 2012 ... Batted .266 (17-for-64), seeing action in 23 games ... Legged out three doubles ... Drove in 11 runs ... Walked and was plunked five times ... Was named a North Division Midseason All-Star.

2011 (Freshman): Played in 41 games making 17 starts including eight in left field, eight as the designated hitter and once in right field ... Posted a .318 batting average with 27 hits including eight for extra bases with 11 RBI ... Finished with six, two-hit games and two multi-RBI outings ... Hit .333 (7-of-21) as a pinch hitter and .323 (10-of-31) with the bases loaded in his rookie campaign ... After recording a hit, his batting average did not dip below .292 (March 29) the remainder of the season ... Recorded a career-long, six-game hitting streak through the first two weeks of May ... Picked up his first collegiate base hit in his fourth at bat, doubling down the right field line in a pinch hit role on Feb. 27 against Manhattan ... Belted his first career home run against archrival Appalachian State, blasting a two-run home run down the right field line as a part of a career-best three RBI performance.

Prior to Western Carolina: Was named the Mountain Valley 2-A/1-A Conference Player of the Year as a senior, also earning 2-A All-State honors during his final season as a prep by the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association (NCBCA) ... Led all hitters in the state of North Carolina in 2010 by hitting .667 as a senior with 48 total hits ... His .667 batting average tied the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's (NCHSAA) single-season record previously held by Alex Hill of Vance HS in 2007 ... Finished with 13 doubles (9th) and 48 RBI which ranked fourth in the state ... Played for head coach Terry Johnson at Wilkes Central HS ... Earned All-MVC honors during his junior season while also collecting honoorable mention All-MVC in 2008 as a sophomore.

Personal: Full name is Jon Lucas Gragg, but prefers to go by Luke ... Son of Leslie and Debra Gragg. Profile

Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations

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