RINGWALD OPTS FOR BAYLOR

All season long, Cape Central senior Craig Ringwald has had to deal with hordes of baseball scouts watching his every move as he's taken the mound for the Tigers.

Wednesday at his parent's home, the 6-foot-7, 195-pound left-hander made an effort to lessen the crowd of scouts at Tiger games.

By signing a national letter of intent to play baseball for nationally ranked Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Ringwald should only have professional scouts to deal with now.

"It gets the pressure off your back," Ringwald said. "I can pitch now and not worry about (performing for the scouts)."

Ringwald, who selected the Bears over Wichita State and Missouri, became the first Central player to sign with a major Division I-A university in Steve Williams' seven years as the Tigers' coach.

"We've had some kids drafted, but they did not sign with a major university," Williams said. "Craig's the first one to sign with a Division I school besides Southeast or Southwest Missouri."

Wednesday's signing was a bit of a relief for Ringwald, who's had as many as 15 scouts watch him pitch at one time this season. Williams sensed a more relaxed Ringwald after talking with his pitcher Thursday.

"I called him into the office and we talked about that today," Williams said. "It was kind of like a big sigh of relief. You could see him relax."

If Ringwald's been nervous this season, he hasn't shown it much on the mound. Entering his second season as the ace of the Tigers' pitching staff, Ringwald has compiled a 4-1 record with two saves and a 1.58 earned run average. Clocked in the mid-80's, Ringwald's strikeouts to walk ratio is nearly 5-to-1.

"You just look at him and all the college coaches say `the ceiling is high on him,'" Williams said. "He has a lot of potential and a great chance to do well in college."