RICHMOND, Ky. - Jeff Sharp, righthanded pitcher for American River (CA) College, has signed a letter-of-intent to play baseball for the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels.

Sharp, 6-1, 190, was 1-1 this past season for American River. He also struck out 26 batters in 28.2 innings of work and compiled a 2.50 earned run average with three saves.

"Jeff fills a need we have for an experienced, quality pitcher for our pitching staff," said EKU head baseball coach Jim Ward. "The recommendations we have received on Jeff are very strong and we are confident he will make a significant contribution to our program."

Sharp, the son of Terry and Linda Sharp of Roseville, CA, was a 1998 Academic All-Conference selection and was a key contributor to coach Kevin Higgins' ARC Bay Valley Conference champion team of 1997.

A 1996 graduate of Roseville (CA) High School, Sharp will major in computer science this fall at Eastern.

KP/kp