Heath Heiberger and Bobby Rooney have signed national letters of intent to continue their education and baseball playing careers at Illinois State University.
Heiberger, a 6-foot-3 left-handed pitcher, had a successful two-year stint at Parkland College where he was voted that teams most valuable pitcher in addition to garnering all-conference first team honors as a sophomore.
Heiberger became the Cobras most reliable starter last year, going 8-1 with a 3.09 earned run average. A hard-thrower with good control, Heiberger owned an outstanding strikeout-to-walk ratio (83/31) and held opposing hitters to a paltry .241 average. The 83 strikeouts were good enough for the fourth-highest single season total in Parkland history while his eight wins fell just one shy of the school record for wins in a season.
Over his two-year run at Parkland, the Putnam County High School graduate tallied a 12-5 record with a 3.79 earned run average and 133 strikeouts. Illinois State head Coach Jeff Stewart applauded the addition to his pitching staff and believes Heiberger could contribute immediately.
"Heath logged a lot of innings in junior college and we expect him to fight for one of the top four spots in the rotation next year," head coach Jeff Stewart said. "Hes got some arm strength but also has that left-handed life that seems to give hitters trouble. We have a feeling he could step in and pick things up where guys like Brian Forystek left off."
A 6-foot, 170-pound first baseman/outfielder from Fenwick High School, Rooney brings his own list of accolades to the Redbird roster. Rooney compiled outstanding statistics as both a pitcher and a position player but was recruited primarily for his bat and defensive play.
Over his last two prep campaigns, Rooney, a native of Downers Grove, hit . 398 with six home runs, 47 doubles and 56 runs scored while tallying a 3.66 earned run average and 177 strikeouts as a pitcher.
A three-year letterwinner, Rooney earned All-Chicago Catholic League honors during his junior and senior campaigns and was also named to the Pioneer Press All-Region squad, the Suburban Life All-Area team and the Chicago Tribune Special Mention All-State team during his junior year.
"Bobby will see some action at first base and in the outfield next year," Stewart said. "Hes got an outstanding glove, a good arm and is an excellent student of the game. This is someone who we think is going to be an outstanding college player for us during his career as a Redbird."
A standout in the classroom as well, Rooney was named the Fenwick baseball teams top scholar-athlete this past year.
Heiberger and Rooney join a recruiting class which already includes Jeremy Accardo, Matt Clark and Todd Stein.
