Baseball Lions sign 6'7 Pisors
High hopes on the hill for righty
Shockley has added seven new hurlers
WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- As tall tales go, the fictitious Paul Bunyan swung mighty lumber.
The head coach of the Southwestern Assemblies of God University baseball team, Jonathan Shockley, is entering his second season. An active recruiting season has shown his plan to build a team on ‘real’ players.
Last weekend he began a literal tall tale when Jarrod Pisors inked a binding national letter of intent to play for the Lions.
He is a 6-foot-7 right-handed pitcher from nearby Red Oak High School.
With a full arsenal that includes a fastball, splitter and curveball, Pisors (PAHYZ-surs) was utilized by Hawks veteran head coach Jay Johnson out of the bullpen in relief, where he logged 16 innings as a senior.
The role the 165-pounder plays for SAGU hasn’t been declared by Coach Shockley, though the Dallas native figures to be a contributor as a freshman.
“We are very happy Jarrod will suit up for the Lions,” Shockley said this week. “He has an array of the right parts and, at 6’7; we believe he will only get better.”
Known as “J-Pi” to teammates, his parents are Jon and Janet. Two of his three siblings are married. He has a pair of brothers in 
Justin and Jonathan (wife Brittany), and sister Julianne (husband Justin).
A clue to Shockley’s assurance of the budding talents of Pisors rests in his family’s favorite letter: J. In the Wingding typeface/font, enter a capital J and its clear what the coach thinks Jarrod’s game will produce.
His career highlight came during his senior season. The reliever was summoned to douse a bases-loaded, no outs situation against Midlothian H.S. He delivered!
Red Oak enjoyed another successful season. The Hawks went 19-13 this spring, while going 10-6 in District 15 of Class 4A.
They finished fourth in the nine team league, trailing only Forney (21-6), Corsicana (26-10) and Waxahachie (25-17).
The humble Pisors is known for his composure, on and off the field. “I feel like there's a lot of room for growth (for me) with hard work and Coach Shockley's direction,” he said.
"I am really thankful for the opportunity to play baseball at SAGU and to have Christian influences along the way,” he added. “Coach Shockley's experience and enthusiasm will allow our team to go far this season.”
Pisors has yet to settle on a major, stating interest in three; Criminal Justice, Business and Marketing.
He enjoys basketball, racquetball as well as hiking.
This year’s newcomers comprise a dozen ballplayers, seven of whom are right-handed pitchers. Pisors will join Hayden Killebrew, who was a teammate at Red Oak last year.
Current Lion, Robert Elles, a sophomore this season, also starred for the Hawks. Michael Reeves, who will be a junior, also calls Red Oak his hometown. He played his prep ball at Ovilla Christian.
About SAGU Baseball
Southwestern is one of 15 members in the Red River Athletic Conference, all belonging to the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
SAGU is also an adherent in the National Christian College Athletic Association, which has 114 members that range from the NAIA up to NCAA Division II.
The Lions will play their first season at their new, on-campus ballfield when their season begins in January. The 2013 schedule has not been announced, but most dates have been filled.
Currently the Lions have 45 contests on tap, with 27 league games against the RRAC.
SAGU has a four-game series against Hillsdale College (Ok) slated for January 25-26. The pair of doubleheaders will christen the new facility.
The team starts their fall camp on September 24. It includes an Alumni Game and finishes with a weeklong World Series of intrasquad games.
The team returns several solid pitchers and catchers. SAGU seeks to solidify the corners by having new and veterans step up and seize starting berths in several positions.
While they graduated their entire starting outfield and third baseman, Southwestern's shortstop Donovan Vess (Ft. Worth, TX) is the cog in the 'Cats wheel. He hit .362 and was tops in runs batted in with 29.
The team hit .284, which was fourth in the RRAC, though their 3.57 runs per game was ninth. The club's 5.27 earned run average was sixth in the conference and its' best in seven years.
Shockley and Assistant Coach Tommy Benningfield are both in their second campaign with the Lions.
Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, SAGU Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.
Current 2012-13 Lions Recruiting Class
| Name | Height | Position(s) | Hometown* | Previous School/Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gage Anderson | 5'10 | RHP-C | Rapid City, SD | Blooming Grove HS / Matt Anderson |
| Tyler English | 6'0 | OF-RHP | Abilene, TX | Gatesville HS / Graig Keeton |
| Rusty Hensel | 5'11 | 1B-3B | Maypearl, TX | Dallas Christian College / Denny Dixon |
| Hayden Killebrew | 6'0 | RHP | Red Oak, TX | Red Oak HS / Jay Johnson |
| Austin Martinez | 5'11 | OF | Childress, TX | Grandview HS / Ryan Ebner |
| Timothy McIntosh | 6'0 | C | Dayton, OH | Byron P. Steel HS / David Smith |
| Billy Mee | 5'10 | 3B | Fayetteville, NC | Copperas Cove HS / C.J. Wilk |
| Jarrod Pisors | 6'7 | RHP | Dallas, TX | Red Oak HS / Jay Johnson |
| Dakota Pruitt | 5'9 | 3B | Kansas City, MO | Raymore-Peculiar HS / Gary Renshaw |
| Sal Rico, Jr. | 5'9 | RHP-2B | Houston, TX | Mt. Carmel Academy / Salvador Rico, Sr. |
| Micah Thompson | 5'6 | 2B-RHP | Waco, TX | Gatesville HS / Graig Keeton |
| Nick Turley | 6'5 | RHP | Dallas, TX | CFNI, Ovilla Christian / Dustin Robinson |
Players are listed alphabetically.
All high schools are in Texas except for Dakota Pruitt’s.
*or Birthplace.
