[Baseball] Jimmie Adelman Pitching for New Zealand

Wed, Nov. 14, 2012 at 8:55 AM - [Baseball]

When the Jimmies begin practice in February, Landon Adelman figures to have a pretty nice competitive head start on the rest of his teammates.

The left-handed pitcher for the Jamestown College baseball team is currently a member of Team New Zealand as it tries to qualify for the World Baseball Classic.

Adelman, who is originally from Saskatchewan, is eligible to play for New Zealand because his mother is from that country. He survived three rounds of cuts last month to make the team.

New Zealand will compete in a four-team qualifying tournament, which begins Thursday in Taiwan. The winner advances to the WBC, which is held every four years and will be played in March.

Thailand, Philippines and Chinese Taipei are the other countries included in the qualifying draw. New Zealand opens up against Chinese Taipei tomorrow.

"Landon's a great kid and a guy we think will make a major impact in our program," JC head baseball coach Tom Hager said. "He's having an amazing experience right now playing with Team New Zealand. But first and foremost it shows the type of talent he has. He had to earn the right to play on that team and he did a great job."

Hager recruited Adelman out of high school, but the Canadian chose to stay closer to home in Regina. After two years pitching for the Regina Red Sox, Adelman originally decided to attend Truett-McConnell in Georgia, but it wasn't the right fit.

Dylan Lafrentz, another talented newcomer for the Jimmies, and Adelman were childhood friends and combined with Hager's aggressive pursuit it resulted in a match. Both players have two years of eligibility remaining.

Hager said Adelman has received considerable flexibility from his professors at JC to allow him to play. He's taking online classes and staying on track academically.

"He's got very good poise, mound presence and he knows how to pitch. ? He has a ton of potential," Hager said.

Adelman is being used as a reliever for Team New Zealand, but Hager said he could be used as a starter for the Jimmies, who went 32-16-1 last season.

New Zealand is a long shot to make it out of the four-team field this weekend, but either way it's been a great opportunity, Adelman told the Regina Leader-Post.

"This experience has been amazing," he said. "From Day 1 of arriving here they have treated us better than I have ever seen. The support we have gotten from everyone is outstanding. It's definitely my best experience in baseball for sure."

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Courtesy Jamestown Sun sports editor Dave Selvig

Source: http://www.jimmieathletics.com/article/1142.php

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