Although the teams in the Texas Collegiate League had to overcome a rainy weekend that postponed 14 games, there was still enough action to fill up a full week including a TCL-packed JUCO All-Star game, Duncanville's winning streak, a MLB.com article and a challenge from one owner to another on TCL Baseball Magazine show.
A VAN POPPEL COMEBACK?
Colleyville LoneStars owner/GM
Stacey Hollinger was featured on TCL Baseball Magazine presented by HealthMarkets and challenged Denton Outlaws owner and former big-leaguer Todd Van Poppel. He even teased Van Poppel by pasting his face on a cover of a Sports Illustrated saying that he was making a comeback to the majors, but this time as a hitter. Hollinger said “Van Poppel couldn’t hit his way out of a wet paper sack.” Van Poppel later responded by saying, “I’ll get him back, just maybe not on TV.”
RESCHEDULED RAINOUTS
The league office will officially announce the make-up dates to last weekend’s rainouts later in the week. There were 14 games that needed to be rescheduled including double headers on Saturday.
STREAKING DEPUTIES
After five straight losses to start of the season, the Duncanville Deputies have found their groove. They have won four straight contests to move up into a three-way tie for second place. Brent Harris has contributed both on the mound and at the plate. The
North
Central
Texas
College product is hitting .412 (7-for-17) on the season and 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA on the hill. Harris had a standout performance against
Wichita Falls not allowing a run in seven strong innings.
TOWNS, MURRAY RECEIVE WEEK TWO AWARDS
The Texas Collegiate League has announced
Brazos
Valley outfielder
Joseph
Towns (UT-Tyler) as the D-Bat Player of the Week and McKinney pitcher Justin Murray (
Kansas
State ) as D-Bat Pitcher of the Week for the games during June 11-17.
Towns (6-3, 175, Soph.) went on a tear last week hammering two home runs and eight RBI during his torrid 9-for-17 (.529) streak. Towns tops the TCL ranking first in hitting (.484), home runs (2) and slugging percentage (.710) for the season. The Carrolton,
Texas native has a hit in all but one game this season with a phenomenal showing against the Roughnecks going 4-for-6 with a home run and four RBI.
During his spring season at UT-Tyler, Towns helped lead the Patriots to an ASC East Championship and compiled a 37-1 overall record on the season - the best among all NCAA teams in the nation. His impressive .398 average with 12 doubles and 35 RBI earned him a spot on the All-East Second Team.
Murray (6-3, 216, Soph.) becomes the second straight Marshals pitcher to be named DBat Pitcher of the Week as he tamed the Copperheads’ bats tallying seven strikeouts, one earned run and only four hits in seven strong innings last Tuesday. In two starts this season,
Murray is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 12 strikeouts.
After being one of
Kansas
State ’s top hurlers out of the pen as a freshman,
Murray remained consistent during his sophomore stint posting a 4-3 record with 44 strikeouts in 24 appearances (4 starts).
TCL FEATURED ON MLB.COM
The TCL was featured on the front page on the Texas Rangers website with an article by Drew Davison about former Rangers involved in the TCL. Go to texascollegiateleague.com or texasrangers.com for the full story that is titled “Former Ranger Makes Coaching Debut.”
LONESTARS GET OUTFIELDER IN TRADE
The Marshals traded OF Zak Presley (Houston) to the LoneStars for future consideration and added 50th round draft pick OF Brandon Glover (
San Diego
State ). Presley, who lives in Southlake, will now have a shorter trip to Colleyville instead of traveling to
McKinney every day. The speedy outfielder will bat lead off and start in center for the LoneStars.
TCL PLAYERS PARTICIPATE IN JUCO ALL-STAR GAME
Five players from the Texas Collegiate League filled the West roster of the first ever NJCAA Freshman Baseball All-Star Series. USA Stadium in
Millington, Tenn. , was the center for collegiate baseball June 14-16 as the best freshman from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) from around the country competed.
Cameron Monger (Colleyville LoneStars), Tyler Ladendorf (Denton Outlaws), Trevor Harden (Denton Outlaws), David Carpenter (McKinney Marshals) and Brian Holaday (McKinney Marshals) represented the TCL at the weekend series.
The series was designed to give first-year collegiate baseball players additional exposure to four-year college and professional scouts. Players featured in the series were nominated by their coaches and then selected by the head coaches of the two All-Star teams.
The players got a weekend off of TCL play and contributed in big ways as the West swept the East in the two-game series. Harden earned the win in the second game, going three pre-determined innings and allowing just one unearned run. Monger led the series with four stolen bases and racked up three hits in the first game. Both Monger and Ladendorf batted .333 and tied for 2nd in total runs scored (5). Carpenter was credited with a save after going three innings in the first game.
LOW SELF E-STEAM
The Mineral Wells Steam put a beating on the defending champs on opening day defeating the Marshals 14-2. Since then, things have not turned out so well. The Steam are currently riding a 10-game losing skid and face
Duncanville on the 21st, who is on a 4-game winning streak.
KIESCHNICK INVITED TO PLAY FOR TEAM
TCL week one D-Bat Player of the Week Roger Kieschnick (Texas Tech) has accepted an invite to play for Team for the remainder of the season. In five games for the Coppell Copperheads in the TCL, Kieschnick pounded a .471 average (10-for-21) with four RBI. He will join former LoneStars’ infielder Logan Forsythe (
Arkansas ) on the Team USA roster.
RIDDLE ME THIS
The player who tossed the first ever pitch in the Brazos Valley Bombers inaugural season is now playing in the Minor Leagues. LHP Ryan Riddle (Texas Wesleyan) signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals and is currently on the Batavia Muck Dogs (Rookie) roster. Riddle, who was the first pick in the TCL Tryout Camp, made two appearances for the Bombers including a six inning, five strikeout performance in the first game of the season.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I wish there would have been a Texas Collegiate League when I was playing at the
University of
Houston . Players have the ability to showcase their skills with wooden bats and play in a minor league type atmosphere. This league has been a long time coming to the state of
Texas .” Woody Williams Houston Astros Pitcher
Click here for this week's league transactions.