Owls Sign Drew Reynolds

From the CPL
The Forest City Owls Baseball Club have announced their first signing for the 2012 season. The Owls have signed Drew Reynolds from the East Carolina University. Reynolds has signed his contract and will be playing in Forest City this summer.

Four Questions with Bryan Lippincott

Bryan Lippincott is a senior from Concordia-St. Paul. A native of Des Moines, he spent this past summer playing for the Quincy Gems of the Prospect League He was one of the best hitters in the league and was a key part in the Gems winning the Prospect League Championship this summer.

Hollod To Return for 3rd Season

From the NWL
(Willmar, MN) – The Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League announced that Matt Hollod will return for his third season as the Field Manager for the 2012 season. Hollod managed the Stingers to a 39 – 31 record in both his previous seasons with the Stingers. The Stingers finished second and third overall respectively during his two seasons at the helm. The Stingers record was the fifth-best of sixteen teams in the Northwoods League during the 2011 season.

Knights baseball: Nylen coming back in 2012

From the Gazette Times
Outfielder Matt Nylen, a key member of the West Coast League champ Corvallis Knights this past summer, will return to the team for next season, president Dan Segel announced Tuesday.

Duffy Returns as Mustangs Head Coach for 2012

From the CPL
The Martinsville Mustangs announce that Matt Duffy will return as head coach for the 2012 season.

After a successful season in 2011, the Mustangs staff made a swift decision to resign Matt Duffy as head coach for 2012. Duffy played two seasons with the Martinsville Mustangs in 2007 and 2008, and then returned in 2011, but this time as head coach. Duffy coached the Mustangs to the most wins in a single season since he played back in 2007.

Local Sports Notebook: Honkers hire new radio broadcaster

From the Post Bulletin
The Rochester Honkers announced the hiring of Michael Broskowski on Friday as the new radio broadcaster for the 2012 season.

Broskowski takes over the microphone from Zack Fisch who will be graduating from St. Cloud State in the spring.

De Fratus and Clevenger get the call

From the Cal Ripken League
Justin De Fratus (Rockville Express '06) and Steve Clevenger (Youse's Orioles '05) saw their dreams become reality this week as they both got the call to join their respective Major League ballclubs as September call-ups.

Local Notes: Baseball At Bradner Soon To Be Reality

From the Olean Times Herald
In less than a week, Brian O’Connell Jr. will present a check for $10,000 to the Olean Local Development Corporation for purchase of a franchise in the New York Collegiate Baseball League.

Amsterdam's Hyatt Top K-Man in Eastern League

From the PGCBL
By: John McGraw

During the summer of 2006, University of Alabama fireballer Austin Hyatt led the Amsterdam Mohawks with 41 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched. It’s now five years later and Hyatt is still piling up the strikeouts. The former Tribe tosser, now a member of the Reading Phillies, led the Double-A Eastern League this season with 12 victories and 171 strikeouts. Hyatt’s 171 punch outs were the most among all Double-A pitchers while his 12 wins tied for the third-most for pitchers in the Eastern, Southern and Texas Leagues.

2011 Top Performer---Damien Rivera

Damien Rivera
Brazos Valley Bombers of the Texas Collegiate League
St. Louis University
Pitcher

WCL Notebook: Gold, Garlick on all-league first team

From TDN
Two Cowlitz Black Bears earned first-team honors, and a pair were tabbed to the second-team of the all-West Coast League squad as selected by a vote of the league's coaches.

Fisher baseball players captures championship with Newark team

From the Cardinal Courier
St. John Fisher pitcher Justin D'Amato and outfielder Sean Osterman were not satisfied with just the Empire 8 Conference title they won back in the spring. Both were looking to win a championship.

"We were expecting to go to regionals last season," said Osterman. "It was frustrating that our season ended the way it did."

Padres’ Denorfia Embodies the NECBL

From the NECBL and Don Leypoldt
Pretend that the NECBL’s logo had a human silhouette, like the NBA’s or Major League Baseball.

Who would it be? (We know the NBA’s: Jerry West)

RedWolves Name Barkdoll Coach

From the CPL
The Florence RedWolves announce the hiring of Jared Barkdoll (photo courtesy of Francis Marion sports information) from Francis Marion to be the head coach for the 2012 season.

Four Questions With Seth Granger

Seth Granger is a rising senior from McNeese State University. He spent this past summer patrolling the outfield for the East Texas Pump Jacks of the Texas Collegiate League. He quickly made a name for himself as one of the best players in the league this summer. He hit .314 and scored a league-high 48 runs this summer. He knocked in 38 runners and he also added 5 triples for the Pump Jacks.

Conway, May and Blackman Make Best Summer Prospects List

From Coastal Carolina
CONWAY - Coastal Carolina's Josh Conway, Jacob Mayand Ted Blackman were each recognized as some of the top prospects coming out of their respective summer baseball leagues.

Wilson Returning to Asheboro

From the CPL
The Asheboro Copperheads have announced that Donnie Wilson will return in 2012 for a third season as head coach of the Coastal Plain League team.

Marlins Manager Not Returning

From the CPL
The Morehead City Marlins announced today that Jay Bergman has decided to resign as manager of the Marlins to attend personal matters and will remain as an advisor.

“It’s great to be a part of the program from the beginning,” Bergman said. “I would like to thank ownership, front office staff, and the wonderful community of Morehead City for their gracious hospitality and giving me another opportunity to coach the game I love.”

2011 Top Performer---Patrick Smith

Patrick Smith
MLB Academy Barons of the California Collegiate League
Cal Baptist University
Pitcher

Madison Mallards Named NWL Organization of the Year

From the NWL
(ROCHESTER, MN) The Madison Mallards and their general manager Conor Caloia swept the postseason awards announced at the Northwoods League’s annual fall meetings, which wrapped up Friday in Mankato. Caloia was named as the Northwoods League Executive of the Year for 2011 while the Madison Mallards were honored as the 2011 Organization of the Year.

Zebedis Named MVP of Valley Baseball League

From the Strasburg Express
The 2011 honors for Brad Zebedis of the Strasburg Express just keep rolling in and you can now add the Valley Baseball League MVP award to the list. Zebedis, a rising sophomore at Presbyterian College, led the league in hitting with a .420 batting average, as well as on base percentage (.490), hits, doubles, and total bases. For good measure, he also won the Home Run Hitting Contest at the VBL-Cal Ripken League All Star game.

Johnson to Return as Tobs Head Coach

From the CPL
The Wilson Tobs announced today that Bruce Johnson will return as the team’s head coach for the 2012 season. The organization also announced that Jason Immekus has been promoted to associate head coach.

Corvallis Adds University of Texas to List of Partner Schools

From the Corvallis Knights
The eyes of Texas baseball will be on the Corvallis Knights next summer.

Three players from the University of Texas - a six-time College World Series champion and perennial contender for the national title - have signed with the Knights to help Corvallis defend their West Coast League title in 2012.

Steed steps down as Cats manager

From the Chronicle Journal
The Thunder Bay Border Cats of the Northwoods League announced Thursday that Mike Steed has resigned from his position as field manager.

Rebels name Combs as new skipper

From NV Daily
NEW MARKET -- The New Market Rebels have signed John Combs to be their manager for the 2012 season.

Combs has served as an assistant coach with the Rebels since 2008 and is currently the assistant coach at the University of Rio Grande (Ohio).

2011 Top Performer---Ryan Brockett

Ryan Brockett
North Fork Ospreys of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League
University of New Haven
Senior
SS

Steamers Hire Familiar Face for Head Coach in 2012

From the CPL
The Edenton Steamers announced today that Steve Moritz will be their head coach for the 2012 Coastal Plain League season.

Three Pitchers Name Baseball America Prospects

From LSU Baseball
BATON ROUGE -- Three LSU pitchers were named Friday to the Baseball America magazine Top Prospect lists for the collegiate summer leagues.

Disher Named New Owls Head Coach

From the CPL
The Forest City Owls Baseball Club have named Phil Disher as the new head coach of the Owls. Disher currently serves as an assistant coach at Wofford College.

“It’s an honor to be associated with the team, staff, and fan base of such a top notch organization,” said Disher. “I am both flattered and excited to be given the opportunity to carry on the winning tradition that the Owl’s have become so well known for and cannot wait to start another stellar season in Forest City.”

John Gaub Makes MLB Debut

From the NWL
(CINCINNATI, OH) Another former Northwoods League player has made his Major League debut. Former St. Cloud River Bats pitcher John Gaub appeared last night for the Chicago Cubs in their 12-8 victory against the Reds at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. The 6-foot-2 left-hander entered the game to start the seventh inning. His first batter was former Battle Creek Bombers outfielder Dave Sappelt, and Gaub struck him out swinging on five pitches. A Joey Votto ground out and a Jay Bruce fly out ended the 1-2-3 inning. Gaub returned for the eighth and had a tougher time. The 26-year-old faced three batters, retiring one, before leaving. Both base runners scored on reliever Ramon Ortiz giving Gaub a final line of 1 1/3 innings, one hit, two runs, one walk and one strikeout.

Three Yellow Jackets Rated as Summer League Prospects by Baseball America

From Georgia Tech Athletics
ATLANTA - Georgia Tech baseball juniors Brandon Thomas and Buck Farmer have been rated as Top-20 prospects in the prestigious Cape Cod League, while sophomore Dusty Isaacs was named the top overall prospect in the Great Lakes League, as announced by Baseball America.

2011 Summer-Collegiate Attendance by Total

From Ballpark Digest
We continue our coverage of baseball attendance with a look at total numbers for summer-collegiate leagues, as well as a comparison of 2010 numbers to 2011 figures.

Top 10 Position Players in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League

The inaugural summer season in the FCBL proved to be a very successful one for all four teams in the league. The Nashua Silver Knights downed the Torrington Titans to win the league title. I have also been told that the league expects to add two more teams for next summer.

Former Copperhead, Bray, Having Big Year with Reds

From the CPL
Former Asheboro Copperhead pitcher Bill Bray (photo courtesy of the Cincinnati Reds/MLB) of the Cincinnati Reds is winding up his most successful season ever in the big leagues.

Developer eyes Columbia baseball stadium

From the State
An Olympia homeowner and officials with the city of Columbia acknowledge being approached by a developer looking to assemble a large tract for a project along Assembly Street.

City manager Steve Gantt said the city would consider selling its baseball stadium on Assembly Street, for the past six seasons home to the Columbia Blowfish.

Dwyer, Gebhart Earn Summer League Praise From Baseball America

From Florida Gulf Coast Athletics
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Several FGCU baseball players spent their summers playing in the top collegiate leagues around the country. Late last week, sophomore outfielder Sean Dwyer (Leesburg, Fla./Tavares HS) and Missouri transfer Ryan Gebhart (Waco, Texas/Midway HS/Missouri) were named to the Top Prospect lists in the respective summer leagues by Baseball America.

2011 Top Performer---Logan Gillis

Logan Gillis
Nashua Silver Knights of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League
Bentley University
Middle Infielder

Baseball America Names Godfrey To Top Prospect List

From Ball State Athletics
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State sophomore outfielder Sean Godfrey (New Albany, Ind./New Albany) has been named to Baseball America's Top Prospect list for the 20 different summer college leagues and Team USA. Godfrey is one of just three players on the list from the Mid-American Conference joining Buffalo's Tom Murphy (New England Collegiate) and Ohio's Seth Streich (Great Lakes).

Four Questions With Kenny Frosch

Kenny Frosch is a 5-10/175 pound left-handed pitcher from Palm Beach Atlantic University. He spent this past summer pitching for the Rome Thunderbolts of the New York Collegiate Baseball League.

Pump Jacks Players are Named Top Big League Prospects

From the East Texas Pump Jacks
One of the many reasons fans attend a summer collegiate baseball game is for the chance to see tomorrow’s major leaguers before they become stars.

And once again, the best place in the Texas Collegiate League to see those future stars was at historic Driller Park watching an East Texas Pump Jacks game. In fact, the Pump Jacks were one of the most talent-laden teams in the country according to recent “top prospects” lists released by Baseball America and Perfect Game.

Moran Named Baseball America Top Prospect

From UNC Athletics
DURHAM, N.C. - The reigning Baseball America Freshman of the Year, Colin Moran, was named a Top 30 prospect at the Cape Cod League this summer. Moran was tabbed the No. 7 overall prospect at the 2011 Cape Cod League.

Top 20 Position Players in the Florida Collegiate Summer League

In the six-team Florida Collegiate Summer League this summer, the Sanford River Rats downed the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs to earn them the title of FCSL Champions. Individually, there were at least 25 position players that turned in great seasons. Unfortunately, I had to narrow the list down to the top 20.

Baseball America Names Top 10 West Coast League Prospects

From the WCL
The Corvallis Knights and the Cowlitz Black Bears dominate the Baseball America Top 10 WCL Prospects List with a combined seven of the ten players named.

Future cloudy, but Wizards impacted community

From the Watertown Daily Times
When Paul Simmons started the Watertown Wizards in 2000, he took his parents’ words to heart.

“My mom and dad always told us to leave the world a better place than when we got here and that’s what we do, the whole family,” Simmons said.

Nine Beavers Named Top Prospects In Collegiate Summer Leagues

From OSU
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The national baseball publications Baseball America and Perfect Game have issued top prospects lists for collegiate summer leagues involving Oregon State players and seven Beavers find themselves ranked.

2011 Top Performer---J.T. Chargois

J.T. Chargois
Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League
Rice University
Pitcher

Stingers raised over $10K for three area groups this summer

From the West Central Tribune
WILLMAR — The Willmar Stingers have brought top-level college baseball to town in their two years of existence, with second- and third-place finishes in the Northwoods League North Division. But this year their contributions to the community go beyond entertainment.

SwampDogs Coaching Staff Staying Together

From the Coastal Plain League
The Fayetteville SwampDogs will have some familiar faces in the dugout during the 2012 season.

The SwampDogs will have the entire 2011 coaching staff returning next season. SwampDogs Manager Darrell Handelsman, the Coastal Plain League all-time leader in wins and two-time manager of the year, will be once again joined by David Tufo, Jim Roberson and Mark Acker.

2011 Top Performer---Matthew Johnson

Matt Johnson
Hawaii Aliis of the Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League
Long Beach State University
Pitcher

Four Mustangs Land on Baseball America's Top Prospects List

From Cal Poly Press Release
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – A quartet of Cal Poly baseball players was honored by Baseball America as top summer league prospects this week.
Outfielder Mitch Haniger is the No. 3 pick out of the Northwoods League while pitcher Nick Grim was selected as the No. 9 pick from the California Collegiate League. Shortstop Mike Miller is No. 10 on the list of prospects out of the Alaska Baseball League while pitcher Chase Johnson earned the No. 10 spot in the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League.