 | Kansas' James Stanfield will be playing ball in Walla Walla this summer. |
With the college season finally underway, Sweets fans can start to track the talent that will be coming to the Blue Mountains in June of this year. Like all baseball seasons, one must temper the enthusiasm a bit, recognizing that how you start the first two weeks doesn’t always indicate the direction the season will go – those who haven’t heated up yet still will turn it around, and those who are on fire will come back down a bit. Baseball is fair that way. However, it is exciting to see that such quality baseball talent will help the Sweets compete for a West Coast League championship this summer.
Here are ten things that are making news at this early point in the season:
1. Kansas joins the ranked world: The first three players that the Sweets signed are from the Jayhawk program, which has vaulted to #25 in the country after the first two weeks. James Stanfield is one of the catchers joining the Sweets this year, and he is already making big contributions to the KU season. Read the story here.
2. UCLA has started the year 6-0 and finds themselves ranked #23 in the country. The Sweets' UCLA signings are just starting to contribute to the lineup, and look for those contributions to grow as conference play heats up. The Bruins defeated USC today, 6-1 in their first ever game at Dodger Stadium.
3. The top two Trojans at the plate will be Sweets this summer. Matt Hart (.407) and Matt Foat (.370) lead the way offensively, as USC looks to iron out some early season inconsistencies.
4. Moving East, the Big East conference has been brought to life by St. John’s catcher and future Sweet Josh Daniel. Daniel is hitting .667 in this early season, and Danny Poplawski’s Georgetown Hoyas have started 4-1.
5. Cornell is making noise as well – Baseball America has picked the Big Red to finish atop the Gehrig Division in the Ivy League. You can read that story here.
6. Our NAIA signings have jumped out of the gate. OCU is ranked #3 in the country, behind the strong pitching of Walla Walla native and future Sweet Mike Richard and his teammate (and future Sweet) Clint Maune. Richard is 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA and Maune is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA.
7. L-C State is no slouch either. Ranked #6 in the country, the Warriors are 10-1. In addition to Sweets pitcher Brian Biagi, the Sweets will announce another exciting addition from the L-C State program soon!
8. UC-Irvine has struggled a bit, but still finds themselves at #4 in the NCAA national rankings. Scott Gottschling has made the most of his plate appearances, hitting .500 early on.
9. Our small school signings have battled challenging weather and early season jitters, but Jordan McLaughlin and B.J. Sieverding are poised to turn around their early season struggles for Truman State Bulldogs and St. Joseph (IN) Pumas.
10. Word from the baseball folks indicate a few key signings to be announced this week, as GM Zachary Fraser and director of baseball operations Jeff Cirillo look to secure the pitching rotation as well as add one more power bat. With temperatures in the 60s and sun shining on the Walla Walla Valley, it is getting people excited for the inaugural season of Sweets baseball.
About the Walla Walla Sweets:
Walla Walla Sweets is a professionally operated baseball club in the West Coast League. It is led by a group of civic-minded individuals with strong ties to the Walla Walla region and to the game of baseball. The Walla Walla Sweets will strive to provide their fans, sponsors, business partners, and investors with the very best in competitive baseball and entertainment, including atmosphere, comfort, food & beverage, safety, competition, fun and value. For more information, please visit www.wallawallasweets.com.
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