Aug. 7, 2008

Stockton, Calif. - With most collegiate summer baseball leagues wrapping up, two Pacific players will come back to Stockton with recognition from each of their leagues.

Junior outfielder Matt Fuson of the Lodi Grape Sox earned the honor of playing in the Sierra Baseball League's All-Star game, while senior catcher Joe Oliveira, a 2007 All-Star in the Texas Collegiate League, earned his first summer All-League award as a catcher.

"Matt made some amazing strides and did a great job this summer," Director of Baseball Operations Wes Yourth said. "He had some quality at-bats and recorded some high-light reel catches out in centerfield that you just don't see every day."

Playing for Yourth in Lodi, Calif., Fuson went one-for-two at the plate during the All-Star game in which his team, the North, fell to the South 7-5. Two of the game's best standout defensive displays happened to come in center field and involved Fuson's glove. Matt prevented two runs from scoring with a diving catch in the top of the sixth inning, with runners on first and second. Senior pitchers Larry Holscher and Mark McCain also played for Yourth this summer with the Grape Sox.

"Everyone did very well, they all came in and had some things to work on and got a lot of playing time," Yourth said. "McCain got the chance to start in the second game of the championship series and won it with six innings pitched and only one earned run. Holscher has also had a lot of quality starts; he definitely contributed a lot to our championship-caliber playing."

Joining Oliveira on the McKinney Marshals in the Texas Collegiate League are sophomore third baseman J.B. Brown and senior left handed pitcher Joey Centanni.

In his last appearance during a game terminated early due to rain on Aug. 3, Brown came up in the top of the fourth with the bases loaded and singled to put the Marshals on the board over the Brazos Valley Bombers. Two back-to-back walks in that inning completed the inning, putting McKinney up 3-0 before the game was called. Before that appearance, Brown launched two homers and drove in three runs in the Marshals' 6-5 loss to the Coppell Copperheads on Jul. 25.

His teammate Centanni has been an integral part of Marshal relief pitching. In back-to-back appearances on Jul. 20 and 26, Joey was one of three pitchers to preserve a 5-1 victory over the Bombers and then was one of four to maintain a pitching gem with a 6-0 shutout against Brazos Valley.

And the lone Tiger representative in the Alaska Baseball League, junior southpaw David Rowse is holding his own for Pacific with the Mat-su Miners. During a double-header against the Anchorage Bucs on Jul. 30, Rowse led the way to a 4-0 first-game victory with eight shutout innings, allowing four hits and only six runners, five of which never made it past first base. For his consistent work all summer long, he's earned the nickname of the "Crafty Lefty" from his coach Conor Bird.

In the Pacific International League, senior pitcher Cole Akins landed a starting role early on for the Everett Merchants and did not disappoint, especially with his consistent dominance over one of the top 10 teams in the National Baseball Congress, the Seattle Studs. While the Merchants just missed out on the NBC World Series, Akins was so talented and valued as a pitcher in the league that the Amarillo Outlaws from Texas picked up the righty to play in the post-season tournament.

Akins only had three days' rest in between starts and turned in a complete game effort with only four hits against the Wichita Sluggers for an 11-1 victory on Aug. 3. In that game, Cole pitched eight innings, allowed only one run and struck out 10 batters. He followed that up with a 7.1 inning appearance against the LA Rockies, giving up two earned runs and striking out 10 more to receive a no-decision in the Merchants' 12-6 loss on Aug. 7.

Tigers in summer leagues:

Everett Merchants Akins
Humboldt Crabs: Hunter Carnevale
Lodi Grape Sox: Fuson, Holscher, McCain
Mat-su Miners: Rowse
Maxim Yankees: Corey Kohnke, Kurt Wideman
McKinney Marshals: Brown, Centanni, Oliveira, Mike Walker
Yorktown Cardinals: Thomas Berolzheimer, Nick Longmire, Sean Sullivan