Austin East Signs Baseball Scholarship With UAH

MADISON- Recognized as a leader on and off the baseball diamond, Bob Jones senior starting pitcher Austin East accepted the offer and signed an athletic scholarship to play for the UAH Chargers program.

“I had at least nine schools in all to approach me about playing for them, but I chose UAH because it is close to home, it has a wonderful baseball program and is a great school to earn an education,” said East, who has a 3.5 grade point average. “I want to study in the medical field and UAH certainly has a superb school in that area.”

With a strong left arm, East averages 82 miles per hour with a stellar fastball, but admits his best pitch is the changeup. In his junior season for the Patriots, the 6-foot, 175-pound charismatic left-hander started 11 games, tossed 62 innings and posted a team-best 7-2 record. He had 54 strikeouts and posted an ERA of 2.79. Earlier this summer he participated in the High School All-Star game where he faced 10 batters and recorded four strikeouts.

Besides his play at Bob Jones, East has also participated in Team Elite travel baseball and once played basketball and soccer, but chose baseball as his dedicated sport. “My style of pitching is one of being calm and relaxed as I feel as though I take command of my pitches,” said East.

He grew up in Madison and played his youth baseball at Palmer Park where he would spent countless hours playing and dreaming of one day signing to play collegiate baseball. The son of Jeff and Lisa East said he’s excited about his upcoming senior season at Bob Jones and even more excited to know he’s also playing at the next level and fulfilling that dream.

“Now that’s it’s here I feel great and excited about my future,” said East. “I’m ready for the challenge.”