FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University baseball head coach Art Inabinet has announced the addition of four NCAA Division I transfers: catcher Logan Koch of Simpsonville, S.C., and right-handed pitchers John McGinty of Grand Island, N.Y., Connor Pate of McColl, S.C., and Zac Burke of Lancaster, Pa.
Koch, 5-foot-11 inches tall and 200 pounds, comes to FMU after playing two seasons at the University of South Carolina. This past season, he played in 44 games and made 30 starts, while batting .179 with nine runs scored, two doubles, two homers, and 10 runs batted in.
As a freshman, he appeared in 20 games (six starts) and hit .286. He was named to SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.
McGinty, 6-0 and 200 pounds, played the last two seasons at the University of Hartford. In his two years with the Hawks, he compiled a 1-2 record with three saves and a 5.71 earned run average in 19 appearances.
Pate, 6-4 and 180 pounds, spent his freshman year as a red-shirt at Coastal Carolina University and will thus have four years of eligibility at Francis Marion. In the classroom, he garnered Dean’s List recognition for 2014 fall semester.
He is a graduate of Marlboro County High School, where he played under the direction of coach Phillip Blue.
Burke, 6-1 and 205 pounds, played his freshman season at Coastal Carolina in 2014 and was red-shirted this past spring. He appeared in 13 contests and made one start, while posting a 5.50 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 18 innings.
He is currently playing his second season with the Florence RedWolves.
Francis Marion finished the 2015 campaign with a 28-19 record and placed seventh during the Peach Belt Conference regular season.
