FROM STAFF REPORTS

Spain Park High School senior Chris Ellis has been named an honorable mention pick on the Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American team.

Ellis, who signed a college baseball scholarship with the University of Mississippi in Nov. 2010, finished the 2010 regular season with a 7-2 record and one save.

Ellis struck out 78 batters in 56 2/3 innings with just nine walks as a junior. Ellis featured a team-leading 1.98 earned run average among Spain Park starting pitchers.

The right-handed pitcher led the Jaguars to a 31-15 record in 2010. Spain Park fell to Class 6A, Area 10 rival Pelham in a three-game series in the second round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A playoffs a year ago.