NATCHITOCHES – Baseball America recognized the Northwestern State baseball team for its "strong" recruiting class that head coach Lane Burroughs and his staff put together for the 2014 season.
 
 "It's exciting to see that a reputable publication recognizes the hard work, effort and sacrifice our staff put in to bringing in what is considered a top class in the country," said Burroughs.  "Aaron Fitt (a national writer for Baseball America) is the real deal.  He's not sitting in some basement.  He is on the front lines watching games and communicating with coaches, players and scouts."
 
Baseball America released its recruiting class ranking that breaks down the Top 25 classes and a look at some of the best classes by region outside of the top 25 on Tuesday.  Northwestern State was mentioned in the lower central region along with other Southland Conference programs, Nicholls and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
"Northwestern State coach Lane Burroughs and his staff put together a strong first class that features 11 freshman and 13 junior-college transfers," said in the magazine.
 
Infielder Joel Atkinson was stated in the feature, and said he "brings sure hands, a strong arm and a nice gap-to-gap stroke."
 
Atkinson comes to NSU from Midland College where he played in the junior college all-star game in September. He redshirted at Oklahoma State before he transferred to Midland.
 
"Joel is a very athletic shortstop that plays the game with a lot of energy and a plus-defender that should hit at the top of the order," said assistant coach Andy Morgan.  "He is a competitor that brings toughness and baseball awareness to our team. He plays the game the right way, and will be exciting to watch, and we expect him to make an immediate impact on our team."
 
C.J. Webster was also mentioned and said he "has good catch-and-throw skills and a good line-drive swing."
 
Webster was redshirted at California State Fullerton before transferring to Cypress College where he played in 18 games for a .360 batting average and 14 runs batted in.
 
"The first thing you talk about C.J. is his leadership and communication skills on the field," said assistant coach Chris Curry.  "His skill set is his excellent receiving, throwing, and blocking as well as being a tough out at the plate.  We expect him to contribute immediately."
 
Right-handed pitchers John Gault and Adam Oller were the final players mentioned in the feature. 
 
Said of Gault: "has a 90-92 fastball that bumps 93 and a power slider." Said of Oller: "works downhill with a 88-91 fastball and another hard slider."
 
Gault became a Demon after spending time at Hinds Community College, where he was a member of the squad that won the state championship and was regional runner-up.
 
He was named to the Under Armor and Rawlings All-America teams in his time at Hinds Community College.
 
"John is a big, strong pitcher originally from Shreveport," said Curry.  "He has arm strength and is expected to add immediate depth to the top of our pitching staff."
 
Oller is a 6-2, 205 pound two-way player from Conroe, Texas (Conroe HS).
 
"Adam is a another two-way player that possesses a lot of arm strength," said Morgan.  "He is a guy that profiles to be a power arm with fastball consistently sitting at 90 mph, and a good feel for his breaking pitch.
 
"Behind the plate, Adam is a big physical target that can receive and block and has ability to shut down running game," he said. "He is a high character kid with great work ethic."
 
College Baseball Daily also amentioned NSU's recruiting class on its Twitter, @CB_Daily.
 
"Really looking forward to seeing the this talented recruiting class at @NSUDemonsBsB as Lane Burroughs brought in a VERY GOOD group of recruits."
 
"We are extremely excited about this class and what lies ahead for Northwestern State baseball.  We still have to continue to develop and get it done on the field.  Class rank is not indicative of wins on the field no more than a bullpen is indicative a game performance, but this is a good day in our program," said Burroughs. "When you bring in as many players as we did, it's a team effort of our coaches (Curry, Morgan and GT McCullough), academics, compliance to administration and community.
 
"This is a reward to be recognized for the hard work of Chris, Andy and GT," he said. "At the end of the day you better have some dudes when you step on the field."
 
The Demon baseball team is in the middle of its Fall World Series, which is the final stage of fall practice.  The final leg of the series will be played on Friday (3:00), Saturday (11:00), and Sunday at 2 o'clock.