Roosevelt loses All-City pitcher Villanueva

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Martin Villanueva, a two-time All-City left-handed pitcher at Roosevelt, will not be able to play for the Roughriders this season after signing a professional contract last October with the Mexico City Reds, Coach Scott Pearson said.

Villanueva, who throws an 88 mph fastball and was 14-1 as a junior, may not have realized signing a contract to attend an academy in Mexico would make him ineligible for high school baseball.

Villanueva has since dropped out of Roosevelt and is expected to report next month to the Mexico City Reds. He’s also no longer eligible for baseball’s amateur draft in June.

His absence is a blow to Roosevelt. ‘It takes us from being one of the top City contenders to ... ‘We’ll see,’ ‘ Pearson said.

Villanueva is the second top City Section pitcher to leave before the start of his senior season. Casey Fry, a left-hander at Chatsworth, has left school to pitch at Pierce College.

-- Eric Sondheimer

-- Image from www.udel.edu