This is from the teams web page
February 23, 2009
Current, Former Jacks In Action
As College Season Gets Under Way
Major league baseball might be shaking off the cobwebs in Florida and Arizona, but college players are in full swing around the country. This past weekend, most NCAA Division I teams opened their seasons, allowing them to join the other college and junior college programs that have been in full swing for several weeks.
New Pump Jacks head coach Ben Taylor and his squad at Scottsdale Community College have jumped out of the starting gates. The Artichokes, who entered the season ranked 13th in the country in the NJCAA D-II national poll, split a weekend series with Chandler-Gilbert Community College, which had been ranked #8. Scottsdale’s record for the
season now stands at 9-5.
Taylor’s predecessor, 2008 TCL Coach of the Year Stan Phelps, has his UT-Tyler staff on the right track as well. Phelps and the Patriots swept a three-game weekend series against Mary Hardin-Baylor, upping their mark on the season to 8-1. UT-Tyler is once again nationally ranked, listed #12 in the country by D3Baseball.com and #13 by Collegiate Baseball.
Phelps is getting some help this year from some familiar faces, too. 2008 TCL All-League third baseman Paige Hodges is batting .346 after transferring to Tyler from Mississippi College, and Keenan Duke is hitting .313 after joining the Patriots from Eastfield College. James Alvarado has a 1.59 ERA thus far, and Matt Sparks has also seen some early action. They’re joined on the team by another former Pump Jack, Clint Helms, who transferred from Louisiana
Tech.
Elsewhere, inaugural season Pump Jacks are already having an impact on the spring season…
Matt Curry: 2008 TCL All-League first baseman Matt Curry has moved on to TCU, but his bat hasn’t cooled off any. Starting at first base for the Horned Frogs, Curry cracked two homers over the weekend as TCU took a series from #5 Cal State-Fullerton. He batted .417 over the weekend and added four RBI, including three in a Sunday win that clinched the series.
Pat McCrory: The Kilgore native is in new surroundings this spring after transferring to Embry-Riddle, which opened the season ranked #3 in the NAIA national polls. McCrory is acclimating well to play in Daytona Beach, leading the team with 12 RBI, 11 walks, and six stolen bases while batting .265. He’s also 1-0 in two scoreless appearances on the mound. McCrory picked up the win in relief Sunday, pitching the final two innings of the Eagles’
5-4 comeback victory.
Matt Shelton: The rubber-armed reliever is off to a solid start at Sam Houston. He posted a 2.45 ERA and a save in two appearances during the Bearkats’ four-game sweep over Creighton. Shelton is joined by Daniel Nottebart and 2008 TCL All-League outfielder Adam De La Garza, who transferred to Sam Houston after his stellar career at New Mexico Junior College.
Scott Copeland: The White Oak native and Panola grad is fitting in nicely in his new home at Southern Miss. Penciled in as the Sunday starter for the Golden Eagles, Copeland picked up the win yesterday to cap a sweep of visiting Lehigh. He allowed just two runs over six innings, striking out four without a walk.
J.D. Dunn: Saint Louis split four games against Cal State-Bakersfield and UC-Santa Barbara, but Dunn is already in mid-season form. The speedy outfielder is
hitting .333 with three doubles, five walks, and five runs scored.
Dexter Moreno: St. Edward’s University is already 14 games into its 2009 schedule, and Moreno is rolling right along. He’s batting a team-leading .413 with six doubles, a home run, and ten RBI.
Ed Hurta: Hurta, the all-around star at LeTourneau, is picking up where he left off in 2008. Through five games this season, Hurta is batting .350 with three homers and six RBI, as well as a 1-1 record on the mound.
Pump Jacks fans will begin to learn more about this year’s squad in the coming weeks as the team prepares to introduce players for the 2009 season. The team boasts players from familiar schools like the top-ranked team in the country, LSU, #3 Rice, #5 Texas A&M, and other Big 12 programs, plus new additions from Taylor’s West Coast roots, like Pacific, Cal Poly, and New Mexico.
Free Season Tickets:
That’s right, free! With players this season coming to East Texas from across the country, the team is actively searching for host families. Host families enjoy the opportunity to have a potential future major leaguer live with them, forging a bond that lasts a lifetime. As an added bonus, host families receive FREE season tickets for everyone in their household. Click here or contact the Pump Jacks for more information.
The 2009 season is scheduled to begin on Friday, June 5, when the Pump Jacks host the league’s newest team, the Victoria Generals. The 48-game regular season will run through August 8, to be followed by the playoffs and TCL Championship Series. Fans can download a copy of the team’s schedule by clicking here.
Season tickets are currently on sale, with ticket packages starting as low as $105 – and $85 for children and seniors – for all 24 regular season home games. Box seat season tickets are also available, including Lower Box seats, which feature in-your-seat wait service all game long, every game. For more information on Pump Jacks season tickets, click here or contact the Jacks office at (903) 218-GO ET.
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Marvin Hillhouse <marvinhillhouse@...>
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