Whinery inks to play baseball for Cougars
The Barton County Community College baseball team released its first signees for the 2005 season with Erik Whinery among the first to sign for the Cougars next season. Whinery will come to Barton County from Highlands Ranch, Colo. following his senior season at Heritage High School this spring.

Whinery plays several corner spots on the infield with experience at 1st base, 3rd base, and catcher. Last season for Heritage, Whinery hit .376 with 4 homers and 39 RBI. His main duties are as a catcher, where he was named the 10th best prospect by Baseball American for 2004. He was the only catcher from the state of Colorado listed.

In addition, Whinery was named All-Colorado Player of the Year by Triple Crown Sports in 2003. His high school team won the 5A Continental League Championship and placed 3rd at the 5A state finals in Colorado. He also played in the Junior Olympics for the Cherry Creek Bruins in 2002 and last summer played for the Heritage Eagles where he hit .408 with 4 homers and 58 RBI.