July 7, 2004

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina juniors Garry Bakker, Chris Iannetta and Marshall Hubbard have each signed contracts with the Major League Baseball clubs that drafted them last month and will begin their professional careers this summer.

A fourth-round pick of the Colorado Rockies, Iannetta has been assigned to the Asheville Tourists of the South Atlantic League. He joined the team this week and will soon be added to its 25-man roster. Iannetta was a three-year starter at catcher for the Tar Heels and earned third-team All-America honors from two sources in 2004.

Hubbard, who was an eighth-round selection of the Seattle Mariners, has already played 10 games with the Everett (Wash.) Aqua Sox of the Northwest League. Through games of July 6, he is batting .237 with two home runs and seven runs batted in. Hubbard, who set the UNC single-season RBI record this past season, owns a .500 slugging percentage.

Bakker, who was a three-year weekend starter for Carolina, was an 11th-round pick of the Chicago White Sox. He has been assigned to the Great Falls (Mont.) White Sox of the Pioneer League.

Senior Michael Gross, who was a 33rd-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals, is pitching for the Johnson City Cardinals. In five appearances, he is 1-0 with a 4.50 earned run average. Gross had pitched six innings as of July 6.