Ex-Hernando star signs with East Carolina

Former Hernando baseball star Ian Townsend has signed with East Carolina.

Townsend earned the Times’ honors as 2010 North Suncoast player of the year as a junior. He batted .473 with 26 RBIs and 35 runs scored that spring and helped the Leopards advance to the Class 4A region finals.

Last spring at St. Johns River State College, Townsend was among the team’s leaders with a .257 batting average, 11 doubles, 19 RBIs and 28 runs scored to go along with three home runs.

This spring, Townsend is batting better than .300 and is one of the nation’s leaders with nine homers for a team ranked fourth in the state.