MARIETTA, Ohio — Two former Marietta College baseball players are getting their shot at playing baseball on a professional level.  Former Pioneers Turner Hill (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) and Brett Carson (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley) are the 52nd and 53rd players to be signed to play professionally from the historic Marietta College baseball program.
 
After just spending last summer tearing up the pitching of the MLB Draft league, Hill inked a contract with the San Jose Giants, the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants and has already responded with some very strong numbers.  In his first 33 games, Hill has collected 34 hits (.256 batting average) and has stolen 14 bases. Last year, as a member of the West Virginia Black Bears, Hill posted a .391 batting average, drove in 16 runs, and stole 17 bases during the short season.
 
"I'm super grateful for the opportunity the Giants have given me in being a part of their organization," said Hill. "My experience with San Jose has been awesome so far. Getting to play baseball at this level every night is exciting and a lifelong dream of mine. Getting acclimated to this level of play has had its ups and downs for me so far, but the group of guys on the team have been awesome in helping me along the way."
 
Carson did not waste too much time moving to the next level.  After the Pioneers were swept out of the NCAA Super Regional in the final weekend of May, Carson signed with the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League.  Carson, this year's D3baseball.com Region 7 and ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. III All-Region team Player of the Year, appeared in four games and collected a .111 batting average before getting traded to the Rocky Mountain Vibes of the Pioneer League, an independent "MLB Partner" league.
 
The trade was exactly what Carson needed and he took full advantage of the opportunity.  He was batting .386 (27 for 70) in 18 games with two home runs, eight doubles, 18 RBI, 28 runs scored and seven stolen bases before suffering a season-ending injury when he broke a bone in his right hand in an 11-9 loss against the Ogden Raptors on July 12.
 
"I really took over in the last week," Carson told Brad Morris of Sporting Pumpkin.com. "I was seeing everything very well and anything I hit was hard. It made me feel great to finally show what I can truly do and start to make a name for myself here and playing professional baseball, to where I could potentially sign a contract with a Major League organization one day."
 
To follow along with the Hill's progress, go the Giants website at https://www.milb.com/san-jose.  To stay in tune with Carson, go to the Vibes website at https://www.vibesbaseball.com.