Pennington sidelined indefinitely

Lower Cape May's Josh Pennington, one of the state's top senior pitchers, is out indefinitely with an elbow injury, coach Mike Kuemmerle said Tuesday.

Pennington, a St. John's recruit who was projected by some scouts as a possible higher-round pick in the major-league draft in June, injured his right elbow while warming up before a game against Elmira (N.Y.) on Monday in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

"It was bizarre," Kuemmerle said. "There were around 12 scouts there, and I'm doing infield-outfield and I go in the dugout and [Pennington] was bawling."

Kuemmerle said that Pennington felt something "pop" in his elbow but that his diagnosis was unclear.

X-rays at an area hospital were negative.

Pennington is likely to undergo an MRI exam upon his return to South Jersey. The team is scheduled to return Friday but Kuemmerle wasn't sure Tuesday if Pennington would be traveling back sooner.

The 6-foot Pennington is a hard-throwing righthander. His best fastball touched 94 m.p.h. on the radar guns in a game against Buena last week that was watched by about a dozen scouts.

In two games this season, Pennington is 1-0 with 25 strikeouts in 11 innings. He has allowed six hits and two runs, including only one earned.

"He's worked so hard to put himself in this position," Kuemmerle said.

Lower Cape May fell to Whitesboro (N.Y.), 11-0, on Tuesday. The Tigers were scheduled to play Atlantic City on Wednesday in their final game in Myrtle Beach.