HCCC Baseball Player Signs National Letter of Intent 
June 08, 2010
Herkimer County Community College senior Kris Barone (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) recently signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his education and baseball career at NCAA Division II powerhouse Mount Olive College (Mount Olive, NC).
Barone had a stellar two year career at HCCC both on the field and in the classroom. He helped lead the Generals to two Region III Final Four appearances and a #1 overall regional ranking in 2010. In the Generals’ 2010 Region III Championship run, he picked up a complete game victory on the mound over conference rival Hudson Valley Community College. The Generals ended their season at the NCJAA Division III World Series in Tyler, TX with a 35-14 overall record.
This season, Barone was an All-Region pitcher and selected for the First-Team All Conference and All-Tournament Team for the Region III tournament. He batted .432 on the year with 28 RBIs and went 5-2 on the mound with six complete games and four shutouts.
Herkimer’s head coach Jason Rathbun said, “Kris has the drive and desire to be successful in life, not just on the field. His growth here the last two years is a reflection of his hard work, and he has prepared himself to finish this year and compete at a higher level the next two years. Kris deserves all the accomplishments that come his way.”
Recruiting coordinator PJ Anadio said, “Kris absolutely epitomizes what a college athlete should be and represents all that is good about college athletics. This was the plan when we brought Kris here two years ago - to work as hard as he could on the field, off the field and in the classroom and get a scholarship to play baseball down south. I’m just happy that the entire plan came to fruition. Coach Rathbun and the staff laid the groundwork and showed the way, but ultimately Kris is getting what he deserves because of Kris. He is the one who drove down the right road.”
The Mount Olive Trojans were national champions in 2008, have had numerous All-Americans and have had nine players drafted in the MLB amateur draft over the past three seasons.