Tony Manville - Northern Illinois University
The Victoria Generals have added two right-handed pitchers to their 2011 summer roster. Sam Hansen, a sophomore from the University of Texas – Arlington, and Tony Manville, a junior from Northern Illinois University, will both see action on the mound for the Generals as they defend the Texas Collegiate League championship title they won last summer.
Hansen, a native of Hewitt, TX, has seen action in 12 games at UTA so far this season. Hansen is 1-1 on the year with 13 strikeouts in 17.1 innings pitched. He currently holds an ERA of 5.19. Hansen appeared in 11 games as a freshman.
“Sam will be a big piece of our bullpen this summer,” commented Blake Koch, GM of the Generals. “Sam is the type of guy that can throw multiple times per week and help bridge the gap between our starters and closers.”
Hansen’s brother, Shaver, played baseball for three years at Baylor University (2007-09) before being drafted in the sixth round by the Seattle Mariners in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.
Manville, a native of New Lenox, IL, has started seven games and appeared in 18 this season for NIU. Manville is 7-1 on the season to go along with a 4.79 ERA. The right-hander has struck out 34 batters in 56.1 innings of work.
Last summer, Manville had a stellar season in the TCL for the Texas Tomcats. Manville was 4-4 with a 2.17 ERA to go along with 46 strikeouts in 62.1 innings of work. Manville threw the second most innings of any pitcher in the TCL last summer as batters hit only .215 against him.
“Tony was a workhorse on the mound for the Tomcats,” commented Koch. “He is a great addition to our starting rotation here in Victoria and is the type of guy that can really eat up a lot of innings for us.”
Opening day of the 2011 season is June 1 at Riverside Stadium. Game time is 7:05pm as the Generals take on the East Texas Pump Jacks. Magnet schedules will be given away to the first 1,000 fans in attendance.
Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at the Generals team store located at 3708 North Navarro Suite A in the Landmark Shopping Center, online at
www.VictoriaGenerals.com, or by calling 361-485-9522.
