The Victoria Generals (17-14) kicked-off the second-half of the Texas Collegiate League season on Thursday night after securing a second-place finish in the first-half to guarantee them a spot in the TCL playoffs come August as the number two seed. On Friday morning, seven Generals found out that they have been selected to participate in the 2013 TCL All-Star game that will be played in Kilgore at Driller Park on Tuesday, July 9 at 7:05pm.
David Paiz, Jr., Romeo Cortina, J.B. Moss (who will replace Brandon Hannon), Jacob Hubert, Toller Boardman, Kaleb Keith, and Trey Wall will represent the Generals and the West squad at this year’s Mid-Summer Classic along with players from the Brazos Valley Bombers and the Texas Marshals. The East will be made up the Acadiana Cane Cutters, East Texas Pump Jacks, and Woodlands Strykers.
Of the seven Generals nominated for the game, Paiz and Cortina were selected as starters for the Game. Paiz will man third base and Cortina will help patrol the outfield for the West. Moss and Hubert will come off the bench to play the outfield during the game and Boardman, Keith, and Wall will each throw one inning in the contest.
David Paiz, Jr. was selected as the West starter at third base despite only playing a handful of innings there this season. Paiz has seen most of his time as a first baseman for a Generals and even has one appearance on the mound. In 84 at-bats on the season, Paiz is hitting .274 with three doubles, one triple, one home run, 13 RBI, and 12 runs scored. Paiz has also walked 12 times and stolen three bases.
Romeo Cortina has been the Generals most consistent hitter in the first-half as he leads the team in multiple offensive categories including batting average (.320), slugging percentage (.440), hits (32), and doubles (7). Cortina also has one triple, one home run, 19 RBI, 18 runs scored, eight walks, and 16 stolen bases.
The league leader in walks and stolen bases at the half-way point in the TCL season is Generals outfielder Brandon Hannon. Hannon has been issued 21 free passes and has swiped 22 bases. Hannon, the Generals leadoff hitter, is batting .264 on the season with one double, one triple, nine RBI, and 18 runs scored.
J.B. Moss will replace Hannon in the outfield on the All-Star roster as Hannon will be unable to participate in the event. Moss has had a solid season in his own right as he is third on the team in batting average at .283. Moss has three doubles, three RBI, 12 runs scored, 15 walks, and 11 stolen bases on the season.
Jacob Hubert spent the majority of the first-half of the season as the league-leader in RBI. Hubert currently sits one back of the top spot with 24 RBI on the season. Hubert also leads the Generals with three triples and two home runs. He has recorded a .215 batting average with four doubles, 10 runs scored, and nine stolen bases.
Toller Boardman leads the Generals in most pitching categories. Boardman is 3-0 on the season with a 2.14 ERA. Boardman has yet to allow more than two runs in any of his five starts this season. Boardman has struck out 34 while allowing just seven walks and has held opposing hitters to a .173 batting average.
Trey Wall has seen action both as a starter and a reliever this season for the Generals. In his seven appearances and three starts, Wall has allowed just four earned runs on the season in 20.2 innings of work for a 1.74 ERA. The opposition is hitting just .187 against him as Wall is 2-1 with 14 strikeouts.
Kaleb Keith has developed into the Generals go-to pitcher out of the bullpen. Keith has only surrendered one earned run on the season in 12.1 innings for a 0.73 ERA. Keith has 13 strikeouts and three saves for the Generals and opponents are hitting just .178 against him.
Tonight is Fastop Ozarka Free Ticket Night at the Generals game. All fans that stop by any Fastop or Cimarron location in Victoria and purchase an Ozarka product will receive a free ticket to Friday night’s game. Game time is 7:05pm at Riverside Stadium against the Cane Cutters.
To purchase tickets and team merchandise, stop by the Generals team store located in the Town & Country Shopping Center at 1307 East Airline Road Suite H, visit
www.VictoriaGenerals.com, or call
361-485-9522.
TCL Announces Rosters for 2013 All-Star Game
This year’s all-stars will descend on historic Driller Park as the East Texas Pump Jacks host the league’s annual showcase
Kilgore, TX (July 5, 2013) – The Texas Collegiate League has announced the rosters for the 2013 TCL All-Star Game. The East Texas Pump Jacks will host the event on Tuesday, July 9, at historic Driller Park.
Breaking a bit from tradition, the TCL will use an East-West format to divide the league for the All-Star Game. The host Pump Jacks will be joined by the Acadiana Cane Cutters and the Woodlands Strykers on the East team.
The West will be made up of representatives from the Brazos Valley Bombers and Victoria Generals – the league’s top two teams in the first half – as well as the Texas Marshals.
Among the all-stars are six players voted Warstic TCL Player or Pitcher of the Week in the first month of the season. The top-15 players according to batting average will all be attending, and the top eight ERA’s in the league have been invited as well.
The Bombers, at one time the No. 2-ranked team in the country because of their 26-4 record in the first half, boast the most all-stars with 11. The host Pump Jacks and the Strykers have eight apiece.
The only two-time all-stars are both on the East squad. Starting at catcher for the second-straight year is Mitchell Nau, the 2012 All-TCL backstop. He is currently second in the league with a .370 batting average.
Ty Marlow is also making his second appearance in the TCL All-Star Game, but his circumstances are a bit different. Marlow was the starting second baseman at the 2011 event, but he didn’t play summer collegiate ball last season. This year, he was selected as the starting designated hitter and received votes as the top closer in the East.
The All-Star Game will be a family affair for Marlow, whose younger brother Brooks Marlow is starting at second base. Brooks Marlow leads the TCL in hitting at .381. Rounding out the infield for the East are first baseman Dirk Masters from The Woodlands, third baseman Joey Armstrong from the Pump Jacks, and Acadiana’s Logan Taylor at shortstop.
The West all-star infield starts with league RBI leader G.R. Hinsley and Patrick McLendon, both from the Bombers, at first and second base. David Paiz Jr. from Victoria will hold down the hot corner, while Brazos Valley’s Horacio Correa III will play short. Slugger Chabrielle Pizzarro from the Marshals will start at catcher.
Two members of the host Pump Jacks will start for the East in the outfield: Week One Warstic TCL Player of the Week Garrett McMullen and Kilgore native Matthew Dickey. The Strykers’ Ricardo Sanchez will join them in the outfield.
On West side, the leading vote-getter in the outfield was Victoria’s Romeo Cortina. Brett Kauten and Blake Kopetsky, both from Brazos Valley, will also start in the outfield for the West.
Zachery Marberry from the Marshals will start opposite Ty Marlow at designated hitter.
Reserves for the East include TCL home run leader Kevin Santana and his Strykers teammates, Conner Fikes in the infield and Brian Smith in the outfield. Two-way player Kyle Cedotal, who received votes both as an outfielder and a reliever, rounds out the East hitters.
The West backups consist of two pairs of teammates. From Victoria, former Warstic TCL Player of the Week winner Jacob Hubert will be joined in the outfield by J.B. Moss, who replaces Brandon Hannon on the roster. Brazos Valley will be contributing catcher Jake Henson and infielder Matt Eureste.
Tabbed to lead the East pitching staff are left-hander Austin Watson from East Texas, who will start the game, and righty Jake Winston out of Acadiana.
Watson will be joined by his Pump Jack teammates, Jordan Johnson and Nick Rossetta. All three pitchers boast an ERA under 1.60.
Winston has two teammates of his own on staff as well: John Gremillion and Justin Sinibaldi. Winston and Gremillion have an ERA under 1.40, while Sinibaldi is sixth in the league with 29 strikeouts.
Gandy Stubblefield from The Woodlands was selected as the top reliever in the East. The Strykers’ Matt Danton and Alexis Garza complete the staff. Garza replaces Daniel Homann, who was voted to the team but is unable to participate.
The West contingent will be equally strong, though it will be without two notable names. Bombers teammates Guillermo Trujillo, the league leader in strikeouts, and Michael Walker, who tops the TCL in ERA, were both selected but will be unable to participate. Taking their place on the staff are reigning Warstic TCL Pitcher of the Week, Parker Ray, and Jason Freeman, his teammate both in Brazos Valley and at Texas A&M.
Also selected from the Bombers are closer Nick Johnson and lefty Zac Curtis. The former has three saves on the season, and the latter is fourth in the league in strikeouts.
A trio of Generals will bolster the West staff: Toller Boardman, second in the league in strikeouts; Trey Wall and his 1.74 ERA; and closer Kaleb Keith.
Rounding out the West roster are a pair of Marshals hurlers. Doug Ashby, who is third in the league in strikeouts, was selected along with right-hander Keaton Brewer.
The Bombers coaching staff, led by 2012 TCL Coach of the Year Curt Dixon, will guide the West all-stars.
For the fourth straight year, a Pump Jack will be coaching in the TCL All-Star Game. East Texas head coach Nate Leaser will manage the East squad, after former Pump Jacks head coach Ben Taylor made the trip the last three seasons.
Fans and all-stars alike will delight in the Warstic TCL Home Run Derby, which will be held prior to the All-Star Game on Tuesday. One participant from each TCL team will participate in this fan favorite event.
An all-star autograph session will also precede the game. Fans will have a chance to get autographs from all of the TCL all-stars before the game begins.
Last year’s TCL All-Star Game was won by the South, 10-2. Jude Vidrine of the host Generals smashed two home runs to earn All-Star MVP honors.
For more information on the 2013 TCL All-Star Game and to purchase tickets, visit www.pumpjacksbaseball.com or contact the Pump Jacks at (903) 218-GO ET.
Rosters for the 2013 TCL All-Star Game
(players listed in bold were selected starters)
|
East
|
|
West
|
|
Player
|
Team
|
Pos
|
|
Player
|
Team
|
Pos
|
|
Nau, Mitchell
|
ACA
|
C
|
|
Pizzarro, Chabrielle
|
TEX
|
C
|
|
Masters, Dirk
|
WOO
|
1B
|
|
Henson, Jake
|
BVB
|
C
|
|
Marlow, Brooks
|
ETPJ
|
2B
|
|
Hinsley, G.R.
|
BVB
|
1B
|
|
Armstrong, Joey
|
ETPJ
|
3B
|
|
McLendon, Patrick
|
BVB
|
2B
|
|
Taylor, Logan
|
ACA
|
SS
|
|
Paiz Jr., David
|
VIC
|
3B
|
|
Fikes, Conner
|
WOO
|
IF
|
|
Correa III, Hector
|
BVB
|
SS
|
|
Santana, Kevin
|
WOO
|
IF
|
|
Eureste, Matt
|
BVB
|
IF
|
|
McMullen, Garrett
|
ETPJ
|
OF
|
|
Cortina, Romeo
|
VIC
|
OF
|
|
Sanchez, Ricardo
|
WOO
|
OF
|
|
Kauten, Brett
|
BVB
|
OF
|
|
Dickey, Matthew
|
ETPJ
|
OF
|
|
Kopetsky, Blake
|
BVB
|
OF
|
|
Smith, Brian
|
WOO
|
OF
|
|
Hubert, Jacob
|
VIC
|
OF
|
|
Marlow, Ty
|
ETPJ
|
DH
|
|
Moss, J.B.
|
VIC
|
OF
|
|
Cedotal, Kyle
|
ACA
|
Util
|
|
Marberry, Zachery
|
TEX
|
DH
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Winston, Jake
|
ACA
|
RHP
|
|
Ray, Parker
|
BVB
|
RHP
|
|
Watson, Austin
|
ETPJ
|
LHP
|
|
Freeman, Jason
|
BVB
|
LHP
|
|
Stubblefield, Gandy
|
WOO
|
Relief
|
|
Johnson, Nick
|
BVB
|
Relief
|
|
Danton, Matt
|
WOO
|
Pitcher
|
|
Brewer, Keaton
|
TEX
|
Pitcher
|
|
Gremillion, John
|
ACA
|
Pitcher
|
|
Boardman, Toller
|
VIC
|
Pitcher
|
|
Rossetta, Nick
|
ETPJ
|
Pitcher
|
|
Curtis, Zac
|
BVB
|
Pitcher
|
|
Johnson, Jordan
|
ETPJ
|
Pitcher
|
|
Keith, Kaleb
|
VIC
|
Pitcher
|
|
Sinibaldi, Justin
|
ACA
|
Pitcher
|
|
Wall, Trey
|
VIC
|
Pitcher
|
|
Garza, Alexis
|
WOO
|
Pitcher
|
|
Ashby, Doug
|
TEX
|
Pitcher
|
