LSU’s Austin Nola Hits for the Cycle in Summer League
DANVILLE, Ill. — When he arrived in Danville to join the Dans, Austin Nola brought with him plenty of memories from his school season at LSU.
Both he and Dans teammate Mikie Mahtook were late-comers after winning this year’s College World Series.
When Nola returns to LSU, he will take with him the credentials of hitting for his first-ever cycle. He did so in Wednesday’s 11-6 win over the DuPage Dragons.
“I’ve never hit one before,” Nola said. “I was just expecting to come to the game to play ball, have a few good at bats and hit the ball hard. The hits fell today.”
Nola reached base in all five of his at bats, including a first-inning laser to the shortstop whose throw to first was just off the mark, and drove in five runs. FULL STORY
K-State Summer Baseball Update: August 3
Alaska Baseball League
The Alaska Glacier Pilots, which fields senior-to-be Daniel Dellasega, will play their final game of the summer on Monday… Dellasega went just 1-for-11 (.091) with one RBI last week… In 34 games this summer, Dellasega is hitting .206 (22-for-107) with three doubles and 11 RBI for the Glacier Pilots, who are 27-24 overall and 24-20 in league play, good for third in the ABL… Another senior-to-be, Mark Joukoff, made two appearances, including one start, last week for the Anchorage Bucs… Joukoff took a 2-0 loss to the Glacier Pilots on Wednesday and followed that by throwing two innings of relief on Sunday against the Kenai Oilers, allowing one earned run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts… In 13 appearances this season, including seven starts, Joukoff is 5-4 with a 3.66 ERA, having allowed 19 earned runs on 44 hits in 46.2 innings with 12 walks and 24 strikeouts… Through play on July 26, Joukoff was tied for first in the ABL in wins… The Bucs, who will also conclude their season on Monday, are 31-20-1 overall and 26-18 in ABL play, 1.5 games behind the Mat-Su Miners for first.
Central Plains Baseball League
Mike Kindel, Nick Cocking, James Allen, Matt Applegate, Kayvon Bahramzadeh and signee Brandon Faulkner finished their season with the Junction City Generals with a 4-2 win on Friday, ending the season at 23-12… The Generals defeated the Valley Center Diamond Dogs with the help of Faulkner, Bahramzadeh and Applegate, who combined to throw the final 5.0 innings to preserve the victory… Final player stats were not available for the Generals… As of July 20, Faulkner was 5-1 with a 2.95 ERA in seven starts, having allowed 14 earned runs on 29 hits with 12 walks and 24 strikeouts in 42.2 innings… Furthermore, opponents were hitting just .175 off him… Applegate was 3-1 with a team-leading 1.95 ERA in six starts … He had surrendered nine earned runs on 39 hits with 11 walks and 26 strikeouts in 41.1 innings… Kindel was hitting .227 (15-for-66) with two doubles, one triple, one home run and seven RBI… Cocking was hitting .217 (18-for-83) with two doubles, a homer and 12 RBI… He was also a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen-base attempts… Coming off a leg injury during the 2009 season, Bahramzadeh had allowed one earned run on six hits with no walks and three strikeouts in 3.1 innings. FULL STORY
Kentucky’s Chris Bisson Stealing History in Cape Cod League
COTUIT, Mass. — With 33 stolen bases in 40 games for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Collegiate Baseball League, Kentucky infielder Chris Bisson (pronounced BEES-own) has become just the fourth CCL player in the last 10 years and the second player in the last nine years to steal 30 or more bases.
Bisson, a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection at second base in 2009, has had an excellent summer for the Kettleers in the Cape Cod League, swiping 33-of-42 bases and hitting for a .254 (32-for-126) average. Bisson, who stole 13-of-15 bases in 2009 for UK, leads Cotuit in games played (40), walks (21) and hits (32), also ranking second in at bats (126) and third in RBI (14). Bisson has played 17 games at shortstop, 16 games at third base, nine games at second base and one game at first base.
One of Bisson’s highlights of the summer came when he stole seven bases in a doubleheader July 24, reaching base 7-of-8 times in the twin bill.
"It’s been many years since I’ve seen one player that I enjoyed watching play as much as I’ve enjoyed watching Chris Bisson play," Cotuit manager Mike Roberts said following Bisson’s seven-steal doubleheader. "He showed me that he’s grown up a lot in the 45 days that he’s been here." FULL STORY
LA Tech Mike Jefferson Garners Two Post Season Awards in Summer League
RUSTON–Louisiana Tech pitcher Mike Jefferson was named second team All- Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League (GLSCL) Monday along with winning the league’s Tony Lucadella Top Left Handed Pitching Prospect Award for the 2009 summer league season.
The sophomore plays for the Cincinnati Steam, which finished the regular season in third place in the GLSCL. Jefferson appeared in 10 games on the season, starting in five, while posting a 2-1 record and a 2.61 ERA in 31 innings pitched. The southpaw was second on the team in strikeouts with 43 and did not allow a home run on the season.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native was also named a League All-Star at the half-way point of the season.
Last season, for the Bulldogs, Jefferson came on strong at the end of the season during conference play limiting opponents to a league-low .223 batting average during WAC play while also being named WAC pitcher of the week on April 20 after the Fresno State series in which the Bulldogs swept the then defending National Champions. The Cincinnati native pitched a total of 7.1 scoreless innings in two appearances in the series. FULL STORY
Oklahoma Summer League Update No. 4
NORMAN, Okla. — Throughout the summer, SoonerSports.com will bring fans weekly updates of current Sooners competing in the numerous summer baseball leagues around the country. Fans can also access information on former Sooners playing in Major League Baseball and its minor league affiliates.
The third installment, along with links to each of the players’ statistics, are listed below:
SUMMER COLLEGIATE LEAGUE
The Alaska Baseball League (ABL) has concluded its 2009 season. Chris Ellison (Peninsula Oilers) ended the season ranked first on the team in runs scored with 19 and in stolen bases with a perfect 16-for-16 mark. The stolen base total ranked him second in the ABL. Teammate Caleb Bushyhead, finished the season ranked first in games started for the Oilers with 46. The two Sooners tied for second in hits on the roster with 32 apiece. FULL STORY
Penn State Baseball Continues to Shine as Summer Leagues Wind Down
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Summer baseball leagues are entering its final stages with Penn State players enjoying continued success as they look to capture their respective league championships. Highlighting the field is rising sophomore outfielder Sean Deegan (Somerville, N.J.) and his Jersey Pilots, who won Game One of the best-of-three Wolff Division Championship Series, defeating junior pitcher Mike Pierce’s (Stage College, Pa.) Lehigh Valley Catz on Tuesday.
Deegan is hitting .280 on the season with one home run and nine RBIs in 25 games (24 starts). Pierce has been a steady contributor for Lehigh, pitching 22.2 innings, fourth most on the team. The Valley Catz look to stave off elimination later Wednesday in Game Two of the series.
Sophomore pitcher Mike Franklin (Harleysville, Pa.) of the Quakertown Blazers has been a workhorse as well. His seven starts lead the team and 30.1 innings pitched stand second.
Rising sophomore star Jordan Steranka (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has bounced back from a tough start to put forward very impressive numbers for the Valley League’s Winchester Royals. Through 42 games (36 started), he has four home runs and 29 RBIs which are both second on the team. He is hitting .255, which includes a team-leading 13 doubles. Steranka played a big role in his Royals advancing to the league semifinals on Tuesday as he drove in both runs with a two out double into the right centerfield gap to eliminate fourth seeded Woodstock, 2-1. FULL STORY
South Carolina’s Merrifield & Bangs Get Set For Cape Cod Baseball League Playoffs With Chatham A’s
Columbia, S.C. – A pair of South Carolina Gamecocks are getting ready to compete in the Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs. Whit Merrifield and Parker Bangs will be on the diamond on Friday, Aug. 7 and will try to help lead the Chatham A’s to a CCBL championship. The A’s are a wild card entry and will face off with Orleans in a one-game playoff. With a victory, the A’s would go on to a three-game series against Yarmouth-Dennis.
Merrifield, a rising junior, has had a stellar second half of the summer with Chatham with his batting average up to .266 (38-for-143) after a tough first couple of weeks at the plate. The Gamecock center fielder has a team-high 23 runs scored for the A’s and also has tallied seven doubles, a triple, one home run and 12 RBI. He leads the team with 16 stolen bases.
Merrifield took a few minutes to talk with GamecocksOnline.com about his experience this summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League. FULL STORY
South Alabama Baseball Players Wrap Up Summer Action
MOBILE, Ala. – After spending their summer breaks gaining experience in summer leagues across the Southeast, six underclassmen on the University of South Alabama baseball team are about to rejoin the Jaguars at Stanky Field.
While summer baseball is more about gaining experience than numbers, the Jags have shown statistical improvement in a number of areas.
Michael Raia and Nathaniel Lami are the only two Jags with summer games left on the schedule. They are playing for the Fayetteville SwampDogs in the Coastal Plain League, which wraps up regular season play Tuesday.
Lami has continued a tradition he started as a redshirt freshman in 2009 – leading his team in time’s taking one for the team. He has been hit by a pitch a nine times despite making only 97 plate appearances in 39 games played. He’s also third on the team with 11 stolen bases in 14 attempts.
Raia is 1-1 with a 5.51 ERA over 12 appearances. He’s worked 16.1 innings and struck out 13 batters. Opponents are hitting just .230 against him, and he has not allowed any home runs. FULL STORY
