Henry Garcia, a 2008 graduate of Porter High School, signed a Red River Athletic Conference Letter of Intent Thursday to join the Scorpion baseball team.

Garcia, a lefthanded pitcher, played the last two seasons at Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant. The Eagles finished 40-15 in 2010.

"He's obviously a high-caliber pitcher from the left side," Scorpion head coach Bryan Aughney said. "I'm expecting him to make an instant impact for our team and our program. It's always great to have the home-grown talent return and the community university should be as excited as I am."

In the 2008 season at Porter Garcia was selected as the Valley Freedom Newspapers Most Valuable Player. He posted a record of 8-2 with an ERA of 0.47.

At NECC in the 2010 season, Garcia had a record of 5-6 with an ERA of 2.63, striking out 81 batters in 61.2 innings of work. In the 2009 season, he posted a 4-4 record with an ERA of 3.70, striking out 71 batters in 58.1 innings.

"He instantly makes our pitching tremendously better with his proven success at the college level," Aughney said. "Having him will also push the rest of the guys. This should make everybody better

The Scorpions were 31-24 during the 2010 season and advanced to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round Group 4 Tournament in Lubbock, where they finished fourth out of five teams.

"I want to lead this team and pitching staff, that's what I'm trying for," Garcia said.  "I want to be a to a big impact player for this team."