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Edenton Signs Big Arms from Small Schools

February 15, 2016 - Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Edenton Steamers News Release


EDENTON, NC - The Edenton Steamers are happy to announce that Ted Christie, Sam Beattie and Branden Nunn have signed with the Teal and Black for the upcoming summer. The three pitchers add potency to an already strong nucleus of returning arms.

Christie comes to Edenton from Union University (TN) in the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference. The Nashua, NH native is the Bulldogs' returning ace this spring. The 6'4" 225-pound redshirt-junior spent last summer with the Chugiak Chinooks of the Alaska League. He made three starts in 11 appearances while holding opposing batters to a .177 average and .224 slugging mark. Christie also collected one complete game and one save in his 28 innings of work. He pitched very effectively last summer on a swing role, while having his innings limited due to spring workload. The former transfer from Keene State College (NH) could project similarly in 2016 with the Clams, pending his scholastic output. Christie is a savvy college right-hander with a quality three-pitch mix and fastball that sits in the low 90s.

Sam Beattie (pronounced BEE-dee), a junior from Oklahoma Panhandle State University in the Division II Heartland Conference, also joins the Steamers' pitching staff. A 6'4" 180-pound southpaw, he hails from Closeburn, Australia and is the Aggies returning game-one starter this spring. Beattie played in the Jayhawk League for the Haysville Aviators during the 2015 summer season. He made 12 relief appearances, fanning 30 batters while only walking one, and his .117 batting average against through 19.2 innings of work helped earn him the #17 prospect ranking in the 2015 Jayhawk by Perfect Game CrossChecker. The lefty completely befuddled and overmatched hitters last summer with a combination of stuff and command. He can run his fastball into the upper 80s, portending more in the tank as he fills out a very lanky frame, and he complements it with a swing-and-miss breaking ball. Like Christie, Beattie features a successful background as both a starter and a reliever. Through two starts in 2016, totaling 10.2 frames, he has 11 strikeouts and a 2.33 groundout-to-flyout ratio.

Branden Nunn rounds out this week's signings. A 6'4" 215-pound junior, Nunn will serve as a leveraged short reliever for Missouri Baptist University this spring. The Sacramento, CA native made 25 appearances, one start, for the independent Marysville Gold Sox last summer in his home state. The right-hander held opposing hitters to a .155 average without allowing an extra-base hit through 27.1 innings to go along with 41 strikeouts. Nunn is a former transfer from Sacramento City College (CA) who has dealt with bouts of command and control issues; but he came into his own last summer with the Gold Sox. When Nunn does not hurt himself with freebies, he can absolutely dominate with a traditional two-pitch power approach out of the pen, including a fastball in the low to mid-90s. Continuing his career with perennial NAIA powerhouse MBU in the American Midwest Conference, consistency in the zone will be what ultimately determines Nunn's role this summer in the Teal and Black pen. Through his first three appearances and four innings this spring, Nunn has surrendered just one hit while fanning five and recording a save.

This small-school trio brings Edenton three more pitchers, all of whom have a good shot to be pitching professionally by 2017. Christie and Beattie offer useful duality with their experience, and all three feature the physicality and weapons to succeed in the CPL before reaching the next level.

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