Two Covenanters Pursuing Baseball Dreams

PITTSBURGH, PA (February 16, 2005) - Nate McLouth of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Whitehall, Michigan, signed a one-year baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, a move that marks another step up in his dream of reaching the major leagues.

The 23-year-old McLouth starred with the Pirates' Class AA club, the Altoona Curve, in 2004, hitting .322 and ranking among the league leaders in a number of categories while helping the team make the league finals. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound center fielder played in a fall league in Arizona, along with a number of top prospects of major league organizations, and hit .278 in 54 at-bats. He is now on the 40-man roster for the Pirates as they prepare for spring training.

After earning All-State honors as a high school baseball player in Michigan, McLouth was signed by Pittsburgh and played Class A baseball for two teams in the Pirates' organization.

McLouth's first stop was in Hickory, North Carolina, where he played one season. He then spent two years in Lynchburg, Virginia, earning All-Star honors in 2003 with the Carolina League's Hillcats before being promoted to Class AA ball. More stories about McLouth can be found as part of this Covenant online news report by visiting www.covchurch.org and entering "McLouth" in the search engine.

Another Covenanter who has shown promise in minor league baseball is Aaron Marsden, a 23-year-old lefty pitcher from Hope Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Marsden was the top pitcher for the Colorado Rockies' Class A team in Asheville, North Carolina, in 2004, tying for team honors with 11 victories and leading the Tourists in innings and strikeouts.

In 2003, Marsden was signed by the Rockies in the third round of the amateur free agent draft out of the University of Nebraska. He then played in a summer Class A league in Washington before being moved up to a more competitive Class A league.

Printable version of this page.