July 25, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. - As the summer is winding down, MUTigers.com will continue to look at the Mizzou baseball players who are playing in summer leagues across the nation. The Tigers have had a strong presence in the Cape Cod League, the NECBL and the California Collegiate Baseball League all summer long as plenty of Tigers are putting up impressive numbers. Below is a look at what the Tigers have done so far.
Conner Mach - North Shore Navigators, NECBL
Since joining the Navigators on July 4, Mach has been on the of the team's most valuable players. He is hitting .314 with two home runs and 10 RBI while scoring 12 runs. He hit .387 last week with five runs scored and a pair of RBI and two doubles. The highlight of the week for Mach was 4-5 performance against Mystic; he also walked in the game, reaching base in five of six plate appearances. He scored two runs in the game.
Eric Anderson - Falmouth, Cape Cod League/USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
Anderson's summer has come to an end after spending time with Falmouth and the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Anderson started his final game for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team over Fourth of July weekend and earned his second win of with the team after firing seven shutout innings against the USA Baseball 18U National Team. He led Team USA in ERA (0.00), wins (two) and was second in innings pitched with 12.0 while allowing just two walks and eight hits in his two starts. Combine his Team USA line with the two starts that Anderson had in the Cape Cod League this summer, the Tiger righty put together a great summer. He threw 24.0 innings and allowed just two earned runs, good for an ERA 0.75 in four starts this summer.
Eric Garcia - Falmouth, Cape Cod League
Garcia has been one of the hottest players in the Cape Cod League over the last two weeks. In fact, on July 31, he completed a 30-day span that saw him hit .375 and boast an OBP of .463, the former of which led the Cape in that span. He is now hitting .265 with 15 RBI and 15 runs scored and owns an OBP of .354. He has one home run and three doubles and has posted six multi-hit games this summer.
Dane Opel - Danbury Westerners, NECBL
Opel has put together one of the best summers of any Tiger as a member of the Danbury Westerners. He is hitting .330 with three home runs, seven RBI and 13 runs scored. He has also walked 18 times this summer and owns an OBP of .449. Combine that with his .466 OBP, his OPS is close to 1.000 at .915. On July 20, he hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning against Newport, sealing a 5-4 win for Danbury. Opel was named to the NECBL All-Star Team; the NECBL All-Star game will be held on July 27.
Dillon Everett - Danbury Westerners, NECBL
The Tigers' reserve infielder from a season ago has put together a fine summer so far, playing with Opel in Danbury. He is hitting .253 with one home run, six RBI and 11 runs scored. He has played in 32 games this summer. He has 23 hits in 91 at bats and also has four extra-base hits with three doubles and a homer.
Brannon Champagne - San Luis Obispo, CCL
After seeing his average fall to .190, Champagne has been hot over the past two weeks and has seen his average climb back to .214 with 24 hits in 112 at bats. He has 19 runs scored and eight RBI and has a team-high 17 stolen bases. He has helped guide the SLO Blues to a 30-12 record while starting 32 of 35 games played. They are currently in second place in the CCL.
Sal Belfonte - San Luis Obispo, CCL
Belfonte, a reserve outfielder for the Tigers last season, is playing with Champagne for the Blues and has put together a very impressive season so far. Belfonte is hitting .248 in 33 games played and leads the team in runs (29) while ranking second on the team in walks (22) and steals (15) with an OBP of .396. He has also driven in six runs and has six doubles on the season so far. He has started 30 of 33 games this summer.
Blake Brown - Santa Barbra Foresters, California Collegiate League
Brown, who was named to the CCL All-Star game this summer, continues to swing a hot bat for the Foresters with a .278 average and four home runs. He is one of the team's top run producers with 18 RBI and 12 extra-base hits. He has also scored 20 runs and stolen seven bases on the summer. He is slugging .511 and owns an OBP of .382. He has walked 16 times on the summer, good for second-best on the team.
Jeff Emens - Sedalia Bombers, MINK League
Since our last update, Emens has made two pitching appearances, spanning 5.2 innings and he allowed just one earned run in that span while striking out five. He struck out four of those five batters in 2.2 innings against the Mudcats on July 8. He allowed one earned run in that appearance as he struggled with command, walking two and allowing two more hits. He followed that with three scoreless innings against the Generals on July 13 and has not pitched since. He is 3-1 on the summer with a 2.26 ERA and boasts a 37-9 strikeout-walk ratio. He has thrown 40.1 innings this summer.
Kenny Burton - Sedalia Bombers, MINK League
Playing on the same team with Emens, Burton also made two appearances since our last update. In that span, he threw 2.0 innings and allowed no earned runs. He lowered his ERA to 5.63 and is 0-2 with 18.2 innings pitched this summer. He started four games and appeared in eight overall.
Drew Carlile - Saskatoon Yellow Jackets, Western Major Baseball League
Carlile, a backup catcher for the Tigers last season, continues to swing a hot bat for Sakatoon this summer. He is hitting .302 with 21 runs and 19 RBI while tallying five extra-base hits on the season. He has played in 39 games this summer and has tallied 129 at-bats so far. He continues to draw plenty of walks as well, boasting an OBP of .412.
James Hudelson - East Texas Pump Jacks
Hudelson, a reliever for the Tigers in 2011, has assumed the same role with the Pump Jacks this summer. He has made two trips to the mound since our last update, going 3.0 innings without and earned run. In all this summer, he is 3-1 with a 2.46 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 29.1 innings. He has helped the Pump Jacks to a national ranking this summer as well.
CJ Jarvis - East Texas Pump Jacks
Jarvis started the season hot, hitting .308 through his first six games, but he has struggled since then as he is hitting just .154 this summer. He is no longer playing with the team as he has decided to take the remaining portion of the summer off.
Dusty Ross - Klamath Falls Gems/East Texas Pump Jacks
After compiling a 1-1 record with a 4.50 ERA with the Klamath Falls Gems, Ross switched teams and joined with Hudelson and Jarvis as a member of the Pump Jacks. So far, Ross has thrown 15.0 innings while allowing just three earned runs. He has struck out 24 batters in the 15.0 innings of work as well and walked just three as he continues to put up amazing numbers. He is averaging more than 14 strikeouts per nine innings and boasts a 24-3 strikeout-walk ratio. He has also allowed only seven hits in his action with the Pump Jacks. He should continue to get plenty of work in East Texas as he owns a 1.80 ERA so far in four appearances (three starts).
Scott Sommerfeld - Mankato MoonDogs, Northwoods League
Sommerfeld, who was the Tigers' starting first baseman for the majority of the season in 2011, put together a good summer with Mankato. He hit .233 in 16 games and had 12 RBI and a home run. He had 14 hits in 60 at bats and struck out just twice. He had four RBI in a 9-3 win over St. Cloud on June 5 and drove in three more runs with a home run on June 3 against Rochester.
Ryan Yuengel - Cowlitz Black Bears, West Coast League
A righty for the Tigers, Yuengel has been sharp out of the bullpen for the Black Bears this summer. He appeared in three games since out last update and lowered his ERA from 5.51 to 4.30, allowing just one earned run in 6.2 innings of work. He earned his second win of the summer against Ben on July 11 as well, throwing 3.0 scoreless innings while striking out four. He is 2-0 with a 4.30 ERA this summer. He also has a save and has struck out 23 batters in 23.0 innings, boasting a strikeout-walk ratio of 23-9.
For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, including weekly updates of all of the summer league players, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and be sure to follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.