BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Bellevue University baseball coach Duane Monlux announced today the signing of McGrane Pledger (Walnut Creek, Calif./Laney College) to a National Letter of Intent to continue his baseball and academic careers at Bellevue beginning in the fall.
Pledger comes to BU from Laney College in Oakland, Calif. where he pitched for the Eagles for two seasons. Appearing in 31 games during his career, he notched a 6-7 record and 4.32 ERA across 98 innings.
He pitched to a 5-3 record and posted a 4.26 ERA this past season. Pledger logged 63.1 innings on the hill across 13 appearances – 10 starts – and struck out 49 batters while limiting opponents to a .254 average.
Coach Monlux on Pledger:
"McGrane is an experienced pitcher that did a very solid job for Laney College the past two seasons. He was in multiple roles on the mound for Laney, coming out of the 'pen as a freshman and used as a starter as a sophomore. He should give us quality innings this spring."
Pledger joins earlier signees Andrew Ishii (Salem, Ore./Chemeketa CC), Josh Vaughan (Boise, Idaho/College of the Siskiyous), Charlie Patterson (Eugene, Ore./Lane CC), and Josh Jespersen (Fremont, Calif./Canada College) in the Bruins' 2019 recruiting class.
Bellevue concluded the 2019 season with a 48-16 overall record and 23-1 mark in NSAA play. The Bruins closed the year by winning 41 of their final 44 games en route to earning the program's 14th Avista NAIA World Series Appearance. BU claimed both the NSAA Regular-Season and Tournament titles before going on to win the NAIA Opening Round – Shreveport Bracket.
Laney College Stats:
| Season | APP | GS | W-L | ERA | SV | IP | SO | BB |
| Freshman (2018) | 18 | 1 | 1-4 | 4.41 | 0 | 34.2 | 19 | 25 |
| Sophomore (2019) | 13 | 10 | 5-3 | 4.26 | 0 | 63.1 | 49 | 33 |
| Career | 31 | 11 | 6-7 | 4.32 | 0 | 98.0 | 68 | 58 |