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Written by Craig Delk Published in Sports Read 245 times

Cookeville native and former Tennessee Tech Ross Spurgeon began his pro career Thursday, signing a free-agent deal with the Schaumburg Boomers of the independent Frontier League. Tony Marable | Herald-Citizen

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Ross Spurgeon got an early birthday present Thursday.

The Cookeville native and former Tennessee Tech standout — who turns 22 on Sunday — joined six more Golden Eagles among the professional ranks, signing a free-agent deal with the Schaumburg (Ill.) Boomers of the independent Frontier League.

“It’s a blessing in itself,” Spurgeon said of signing. “I’ve gotta thank everyone around me that helped me get where I have gone. I’m grateful that I get to continue playing baseball.”

Spurgeon joins Major League draftees David Hess (), Daniel Miles (), Brandon Thomasson (), Seth Lucio () and Jordan Parris (Colorado Rockies), as well as free-agent signee Zach Stephens (Texas Rangers) among the 2014 Tech standouts now playing pro ball.

“We knew we had a great team,” Spurgeon said. “Knowing there’s so many of us playing pro ball, it doesn’t shock me at all because that team was unreal. It’s an honor to be included in the group of guys that are all playing, and hopefully one day we’ll be able to see each other and play each other again.” 1 of 3 6/21/2014 9:03 AM Spurgeon signs with Frontier League's Schaumburg Boomers http://www.herald-citizen.com/sports/item/1253-spurgeon-signs-with-fro... And going to the Frontier League could give Spurgeon a very good shot at being signed by an MLB affiliated team.

“They say guys that are really close to being draft picks and things like that, the Frontier League is the best thing they can do because a lot of people want to see that they can continue to play at a higher level,” Spurgeon explained. “They pick up a lot of Frontier guys because they know they can do that.”

Tech coach Matt Bragga is happy to see Spurgeon have the chance to play pro ball, especially considering he has known him since he was a younger teenager coming to Tech camps.

“It’s great to see a guy like that who has been around the program since he was young continue to persevere through junior college and getting that chance to go on,” Bragga said. “He’s just a great kid — and we’ve got a lot of guys like this — but he’s a guy who has given our 9-year-old Luke and 6-year-old Emmy high-fives all the time. He makes people feel part of the program.”

Spurgeon was a key reliever for the Golden Eagles the last two seasons, helping them tie the school record in 2014 with their second-consecutive 40-win season.

As a senior, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder appeared in 23 games and fashioned a 4-1 record with a 3.68 earned-run average and 38 in 36 2/3 innings. He also showed the ability to dial up his power fastball during the year, at one point hitting 96 miles per hour.

In his first season at Tech, Spurgeon finished 2-4 with a 5.36 ERA, striking out 39 batters in 48 2/3 innings. That year, he also garnered nine starting nods in 18 appearances.

Before coming to Tech, Spurgeon spent his first two collegiate seasons at Cleveland State Community College.

Spurgeon was also a prep standout in Cookeville. As a senior, he threw two no-hitters and compiled a 1.78 ERA, an 8-1 record and 74 strikeouts in just 43 1/3 innings for the Cavaliers. His /walk ratio was an astounding 74:8, and he was voted District 6-AAA Pitcher of the Year.

Bragga saw potential in Spurgeon from the time he was in high school.

“Out of high school, we were like, ‘Ross, we like you a lot but maybe go to a junior college and see what happens,’” Bragga recalled. “He goes to Cleveland State, and we were like, ‘Hey, we like this guy and we want him back in Cookeville.’ He comes back to us, and (in 2013) he was one of our weekend conference rotation guys as a junior and had a good year. This year he came back out of the ; there were times he was flat-out dominant out of the bullpen.”

The Boomers are located about 45 minutes northwest of Chicago, and they play in the Frontier League’s West Division. At 17-13, they are currently just 2.5 games out of first place in the division standings behind the (20-11) and (18-11).

Spurgeon isn’t certain yet what role he’ll have for the Boomers.

“I think I’ll have a reliever role of some sort,” he said. “I don’t really know where or what inning I’ll be coming in or what kind of role I’ll be doing, but I’m just looking to get some innings. I’m new to them, so they really don’t know where they’ll put me.”

The 14-team Frontier League is comparable to Minor League Baseball’s Class A level, and has teams in , Indiana, , Michigan, , and Pennsylvania, as well as a traveling team. The league has been successful at producing affiliated talent, as its web site lists 66 alumni currently on affiliated rosters.

“I’ve been up here in Schaumburg for about three or four days, and I’ve been able to watch them play a couple games,” Spurgeon said. “I was just kind of shocked at how some of these players can hit. They can really hit. It’s pretty cool. It’s exciting, and I’m ready to get out there and do a little bit of it myself.”

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Craig Delk

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