Saturday, March 17, 2007

Mallards making debuts in 07

Three Iowa Hawkeyes have been signed to play for Madison this summer. C/1B Dusty Napoleon has thrown out 4 of 24 baserunners and has not commited an error behind the plate this season. CF Travis Sweet played in the infield and pitched last spring. He has been named Big Ten player of the week once this spring and is hitting .364 with 2 HR and 6 steals. RHP Steve Turnbull has 14 strikeouts in 12.1 innings this spring.

RHP Jim Sajewich and LHP Dan Sorce from Illinois State will make their Northwoods League debuts this summer. Jim is 1-1, 2.53 in 7 appearances this spring. Dan threw a no-hitter as a high school senior.

INF Aaron Bray was a freshman All-American for UNC-Charlotte. Aaron has 5 steals this spring.

A pair of teammates at San Diego State will be coming with plenty of summer college baseball experience. INF Joe Spiers has played in the Cape Cod League and the Alaska Baseball League the past two summers. LHP Donnie Hume has played in the Cape Cod League and the California Collegiate League. Donnie has struck out 31 and only walked 5 in 5 starts this spring.

Michigan State will be represented in Madison by a couple of notable prospects. RHP Mark Sorensen was selected as one of the top 10 prospects in the Great Lakes Collegiate League by Baseball America last year. His father Lary Sorensen played 11 seasons in the majors. INF Chris Roberts was ranked the No. 2 newcomer in the Big Ten according to Baseball America. Chris was selected in the 27th round by the Cleveland Indians in the 2006 MLB Draft.

RHP Bubba O'Donnell pitched a complete game shutout for High Point University last weekend to earn Big South Pitcher of the Week honors.

INF Brandon Wikoff is hitting .385 with one steal this spring. Illinois teammate OF Daniel Webb spent the last two summers playing for the Delaware Cows of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.

OF Evan LeBlanc is hitting .324 with 1 HR for UC-Santa Clara this season.

The other signings that have been announced by Madison are SS Russell Harben of South Alabama, INF/OF Adam Pasono of Xavier, and C Eric Nielsen of Purdue.

Friday, March 16, 2007

New Loggers for 07

Dallas Baptist University will have three players playing for the Loggers this summer. RHP Victor Black was drafted in 41st round by Mets out of high school and has struck out 42 in 37 innings this spring. Evan Bigley was hitting .304 through 3/15 and has played mostly in the outfield. INF Trevor Head has two HR this season.

Three players from Southern Miss will also be making the trip north this summer. OF Luke Adkins was named last year to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team. OF Bo Davis currently has a five game hitting streak. INF Brian Dozier is hitting .338 and has started every game at SS. Brian was also named to the Freshman All-American team last year.

La Crosse also has signed a couple of freshman from Arizona, LHP Paul Bargas and C Dwight Childs. Dwight has thrown out over half of those attempting to steal on him this spring. Paul has struck out 9 and only walked one this spring.

INF/RHP Cole White leads Army in most offensive categories and has 16 strikeouts in 16 innings as a pitcher this spring.

INF Sawyer Carroll has 11 doubles and 21 walks to go along with his .378 average this season for Kentucky.

San Diego State INF Troy Hanzawa is hitting .333 and has stolen 4 bases this spring.

Former high school teammates Brett Jackson and Greg Redig are both seeing some action during their freshman campaigns at California.

Others signings announced by La Crosse so far are Evansville LHP/1B Tristan Facer, Lamar LHP Justin Walker, and Northern Iowa C Jeremy Weih. Walker has struck out 11 in 8.1 innings this spring. Jeremy is hitting .273 and has caught four stealing.

Madison

LHP Tom Stilson and INF Randy Molina will be back in Madison this summer after the season ends at Stanford. Tom was 1-1, 1.93 in four starts for the Mallards last summer. This will be Randy's third season with the Mallards.

OF/C Jordan Comadena is leading Purdue in almost every offensive category this spring, including an impressive .837 slugging percentage. He was a mid-season all-star last season for Madison and will be one to watch this summer in his third season with the Mallards. Also returning to Madison this summer from Purdue is RHP Allan Donato. Allan has struck out 8, walked one, and given up one run in four appearances this spring. He only allowed one run in 13 appearances with the Mallards last summer.

The other returning Mallards that have been announced are Winthrop 3B Mitch Saum and Bobby Hubbard from Furman. Mitch was a first team All-American in high school. Bobby was a mid-season all-star for the Mallards last year and can play in the infield or outfield.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Green Bay Bullfrogs to break ground on Fan Deck, Joannes Stadium renovations underway.

Green Bay, WI -The Green Bay Bullfrogs, a 2007 expansion team of the premier collegiate Northwoods League, are very pleased to announce the addition of a new Fan Deck to be built at historic Joannes Stadium. A partnership has been finalized with Triangle Distributing of Green Bay and the newest amenity to Joannes Stadium will be known as the “Leinies Northwoods Deck.” The 4084 square foot, multi-tiered deck will be constructed down the right field line. Construction will start in the next couple of weeks and will be completed in time for the Bullfrogs Inaugural Opening Night on Monday, June 4 at 7:05p.m.

The Leinies Northwoods Deck is expected to hold about 400 people and will bring capacity at the former minor league ballpark to just over 2000. The fan deck is a staple in the Northwoods League and offers the fans a unique opportunity to see the game from a different view and allows the team to cater to larger group outings. “This is the first of many improvement we have planned for Joannes Stadium, our goal is to make this historic ballpark a place for all of Green Bay and the surrounding communities to gather and enjoy America’s pastime”, states Bullfrogs Owner and President Jeff Royle.

The Leinies Northwoods Deck will cost $25 and children under 12 are $15. Admission to the deck includes a game ticket with food and beverage being all-you-can-eat. Additional major renovations projects are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

“A number of smaller projects got underway this past fall when we received a 5 year lease to Joannes Stadium” said Royle. “The entire field was re-edged and both the pitchers mound and batters boxes have been completely re-built. Due to the location of the new deck, both bullpens will be re-built and located closer to fan seating. This will allow fans to be closer to the on-field action. In addition to construction of the deck, new 30 foot, major league type foul poles will be installed as well as a new state-of-art sound system. Improvements to the entire facility including restrooms, concessions and seating are already underway. This is only the beginning.”

The Bullfrogs begin play on May 31, 2007 against the Waterloo Bucks in Waterloo , IA before returning home for Opening Night in Green Bay on Monday, June 4. For more information please go to www.greenbaybullfrogs.com or call the Bullfrogs ticket office at 920-497-7225


Green Bay Bullfrogs Baseball: “Grip It and Ribbit”

Sunday, March 11, 2007

La Crosse

La Crosse has announced 9 players that will be returning this summer led by 06 team MVP Jesse Hart.

  • INF Jesse Hart is leading UW-Milwaukee with a .342 average through 9 games. Also returning from UW-Milwaukee will be RHP Dan Luczak, who went 6-3, 2.76 last summer for the Loggers.

  • UNLV INF Willie Bowman played for LaCrosse in 05 but missed last summer with an injury. Willie has been HBP a team high 4 times this spring. Son of former major league player and manager Bob Brenly, C Michael Brenly is leading UNLV with 18 RBI this spring.

  • Two RHPs from Winona State will be returning this summer. Bryan Ruff was 1-0, 2.08 in 6 games with La Crosse last summer. Don Erdall was 4-3, 1.19 and had 2 saves last year for the Loggers. Both are off to good starts this spring with Winona State.

  • RHP Adam Dominick has struck out 10 and only given up one earned run in 10 innings this spring at UW-Whitewater.

  • Spencer Lucian is hitting .300 in three starts in the OF for Princeton. He played in both the infiled and outfield last season.

  • OF Jim Viscomi led La Crosse last summer with 14 steals. Jim is hitting .344 and leading Evansville with 8 steals this spring.

Recent Signings

  • Battle Creek has announced the signing of INF Iain Dykins from Central Missouri.

  • Eau Claire has signed two players from UC-Davis. RHP Eddie Gamboa has made 5 appearances out of the bullpen this spring and struck out 4 in 7.2 innings. C Jacob Jefferies is hitting .340 this spring and is second on the team with 8 RBI.

  • Green Bay has signed P/1B Mike Jacobson from UW-Whitewater. Mike has been dominant in his two starts this spring, both of which were complete games. He is 2-0, 0.64 and has struck out 10 while only walking 2.

  • Waterloo has signed RHP Tanner Roark from Illinois and INF Adam Gaylord from Stanford. Tanner was undefeated last year in 10 starts as a freshman. Roark was also named one of Collegiate Baseball's Top Players to Watch in the Big Ten this year. Adam is hitting .314 this spring as a freshman.