MEN'S BASEBALL
News
June 6, 1996
PATRIOTS SIGN 5 BASEBALL RECRUITS
Head baseball coach Bill Brown has announced five players, four from the Washington,
D.C. metropolitan area, have signed national letters of intent to attend George Mason
University for the 1996-97 academic year.
The five recruits include Andy Devitt, a center fielder from Neosho County
Community College in Chanute, Kansas; Jimmy Dillon, a first baseman from West
Springfield High School in Springfield, Va.; Greg Filson, a third baseman from
DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md.; Chuck Freeman, a catcher from
Fairfax High School in Fairfax, Va.; and Mark Gibbs, a shortstop from St. John's
College High School in Washington, D.C.
Devitt, a native of Overland Park, Kansas, and a 1994 graduate of Blue Valley
Northwest High School, had an outstanding career at Neosho County for Coach Steve
Murray. Devitt earned All-Jayhawk Conference honors the past two seasons and was
an all-region first-team choice this season after being a second-team pick last
year. Selected as the Male Athlete of the Year at Neosho County in 1996, he led
the team with a .384 batting average, 10 doubles, 12 home runs, 40 runs batted in
and 13 stolen bases, and he tied his season record for runs he set last year with
59. Devitt was hit by pitch 28 times this season, breaking the mark of 19 he set
last year, and he holds five season records (including a .451 average and 18
doubles in 1995) and six career marks (including 47 times hit by pitch and a .577
on base percentage) at Neosho County.
Dillon, a native of Springfield, helped lead West Springfield to a 17-5 record
and the Patriot District regular season championship this year. A first-team
all-district selection (he was a second-team choice at third base in 1995) and
second-team All-Metropolitan Washington choice, Dillon batted .400 with six home
runs and 28 RBI for the Spartans and Coach Ron Tugwell. He has been selected to
participate as a member of the West squad in the Virginia State All-Star Game
later this summer.
Filson, a resident of Bowie, Md., helped guide DeMatha to a 27-5 record this
season and to three straight Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles. A
first-team All-Metropolitan Washington selection this season after being a
second-team choice in 1995, Filson is a two-time All-WCAC pick and shared
conference "Player of the Year" honors this year with Gibbs and Frank Valois of
Good Counsel. Filson is one of only four players to be a four-year starter at
DeMatha, and he led Coach Charlie Sullivan's Stags this season with a .509 batting
average, 15 doubles, five home runs and 50 RBI. He was chosen to play in the
Crown Maryland State All-Star Game this Sunday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Freeman's Fairfax High squad struggled to a 10-14 mark this season, but he
guided the Rebels to the Liberty District tournament championship and a Northern Region
playoff berth. After batting .524 and setting a school record with 19 extra-base
hits in 1995, Freeman batted .382 with six doubles, two home runs and 18 RBI as a
senior while earning first-team all-district, all-region and All-Metropolitan
Washington honors. He will join Dillon on the West team in the Virginia State
All-Star Game.
Gibbs, a resident of Davidsonville, Md., helped guide his father Ed's squad to
a 26-5 record and the WCAC regular season title as he batted .406 with six
doubles, four triples, one home run, 31 RBI and 14 stolen bases. In addition to
sharing the WCAC "Player of the Year" award, Gibbs was USA Today's Washington
"Player of the Year" in 1995 and the Gatorade Circle of Champions D.C. "Player of
the Year" this season. A two-time All-Metropolitan Washington selection and
three-time All-WCAC choice, he was one of 15 players named to the Maryland State
Coaches Association preseason all-state squad and was rated among the top 100 high
school players in the country by College Sport magazine.
George Mason finished the 1996 season with an overall record of 25-29, 12-9 and
in fourth place in the Colonial Athletic A
Return to GMU SportSite