High Schools - Shawnee pitcher Miller awaits word from baseball draft

Shawnee pitcher Quinton Miller already has a secure future: He is signed to play next year for the University of North Carolina.

But the future could change quickly, if a major league team decides today or tomorrow to draft the 6-1, 180-pound flame thrower, who went 6-3 this season for the Renegades.

"His record is a little misleading," said his Shawnee coach, Brian Anderson. "He was 6-1, but got two losses in the final four innings of his high school baseball career.

"Quinton has a very good slider, which gets in the mid-80s, and it complements his fastball, which he gets in the low-90s. Early in the season, a lot of scouts were talking about him being a very high draft pick. But you never know how the draft will turn out. He's a great kid and he has room to get bigger and become an even better pitcher."

Miller showed his skills early on at Shawnee, becoming the No. 2 varsity pitcher his sophomore year. He was shut down last season because of shoulder tendinitis, but was able to go full throttle this season.

"He throws the fastball and the slider very well, and he also has a very good changeup," Anderson said. "He was our leading home-run hitter and had the most RBI for our team, but he's not going to be worrying about hitting anymore. From now on, he'll be concentrating just on pitching."

The only question is where. Will it be in Chapel Hill or for a pro team? We may know after today.

Camden Catholic grad Rich Racobaldo led Mount Olive (N.C.) to the Division II national baseball championship last Saturday, as the Trojans defeated Ouachita (Arkansas) Baptist, 6-2, in the title game in Sauget, Ill.

Before advancing to the national finals, Racobaldo was named the Most Outstanding Player in the South Atlantic Regional, going 14-for-26 (.538) in six games.

"It was wonderful," said Racobaldo, a 6-2, 215-pound third baseman who hit .369 for the season with seven home runs and 57 RBI for the 58-6 Trojans. "Before the season, we joked about how we didn't think we were a very good team.

"Most of the players on this team could probably play Division I, but because of either grade-wise or skillwise, we fell just a little short."

Following their title-clinching win, the team was given a hero's welcome, including a police escort from the airport to the campus, Racobaldo said.

What made the weekend more special was that his dad, Rich, mom, Francine, and sister, Maria, were in the stands. But young Rich wasn't the only star in the Racobaldo family last weekend.

"My sister, Melissa, won the state championship with the Cherokee lacrosse team, too," Rich said. "It made for a pretty nice weekend."

Racobaldo, a junior, doesn't expect to be picked in the baseball draft that starts today, but certainly wouldn't rule it out next year. "Who wouldn't want to hear their name called? That would be a dream." *