A couple of months after graduating from Hixson High School, Phillip Akridge has signed to continue his baseball career with Tennessee Wesleyan College, a top-10 NAIA program last spring. The infielder-pitcher follows teammate Andy Duncan in joining the Bulldogs.

Duncan, who was Hixson's leading pitcher as a senior, signed a varsity scholarship with TWC in early July. He's going to the Athens school as a catcher after batting .352 with three home runs, a triple, eight doubles and 10 stolen bases in 2009. He had a 6-2 pitching record with a 1.81 earned run average and 67 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings.

"He was our 3-hole hitter and drove in runners," Hixson coach Ted Mulder said. "Both he and Phillip were really good leaders on the field, and both work extremely hard. Phillip is going up there to pitch and play a little bit of second base, I think."

A shoulder injury and a back issue cut into Akridge's senior season and he didn't hit as well as usual, after batting about .360 in 2008. But he was the Wildcats' starting pitcher three times this year and went 3-0 with a low ERA.

"He did an awesome job for us on the mound," Mulder said. "And he was a good situational guy with the bat. He was good at keeping the ball in play and moving runners."

Ferrum College, an NCAA Division III school in Virginia, wanted Akridge, he said, but that is more than seven hours from home, so he was grateful for a successful tryout with the Bulldogs.

"They're a really great program and I'm honored to be able to go there," Akridge said. "I'm going to get to play at least with the JV program starting out, so I'll get to work my way up."

Mulder and Hixson assistant coach Michael Gertz are TWC alumni, Duncan noted.

"It was pretty much down to Maryville College and Tennessee Wesleyan for me," he said, "and in addition to Wesleyan being closer, I like their nine conference titles in a row and the fact they've gone to the (NAIA) World Series. I want to be part of an established program with a winning tradition instead of trying to help build one."