By: Deb Wallace

With the NABF Summer College World Series selection on Friday, July 25th, both Monarchs teams are poised to be selected to play in the tournament. The World Series is being played here in the Toledo area Thursday, August 7th through Sunday, August 10th.

The Monarchs Blue team has played in 30 games with a record of 21-9 as of Tuesday, July 22nd. They are scheduled to play Taylor Business on Wednesday the 23rd and Tri-County Merchants on Friday the 25th, both games at Bowman Field in Toledo.

Leading the Blue team in batting average is Phil Reed with .372 through 29 games. Reed also has hit 3 home runs, scored 16 runs, and has batted in a team high 20 runs. Chris Pfund has played 20 games so far this season with a .340 average. Pfund is leading the team 21 stolen bases. Ryan Price has garnered 18 walks and has a batting average of .333 to go with 17 runs scored. Austin Ritson has scored 14 runs through 23 games and has a .315 average. Ritson has also pitched 13 innings over 7 games earning 3 saves and has an earned run average of 2.15.Brad Timofeev has played 26 games, has a .300 average, and leads the team with 19 runs scored. Timofeev has also appeared in 8 games as a pitcher with a record 1-0 with and a 1.07 earned run average through 19.67 innings of work.

Michael Nyitrai has appeared in 20 games has a .295 average and has scored 13 runs. Cody McPherson has a .246 average through 28 games, garnering 15 walks and scoring 16 runs. McPherson has also pitched for the Monarchs this season, appearing in 10 games with a record of 2-1 with 2 saves and a 1.50 earned run average. Ross Hartwig has appeared in all 30games. Hartwig has a .244 average, while walking 14 times, scoring 15 runs and he has batted in 15 runs.

In terms of pitching, the Monarchs have had some outstanding performances from the players. Shane Pfouts has pitched in 7games and has a record of 5-1 with a 0.82 earned run average through 34 innings of work. Charlie Wooten has pitched 6 games, working 22 innings. Wooten has a 3-1 record with 1 save and a 1.27 earned run average. Chris Bassitt rounds out the leaders having pitched in 6 games with 25.67 innings of work, giving him a 3-2 record with an earned run average of 3.82.

Monarchs General Manager Steve Timofeev says the reason why the team is dong well is because “the Blue team has a strong pitching staff as well as a veteran coaching staff.” He adds, “The core of this team has been with us for 3 years and it is exciting to watch most of these men in their final summer at the college level.”

The Monarchs Gold team has also been impressive this season. They have played in 36 games and have a record of 27-9. All of the following statistics for the team are through the first 33 games of the season.

Brett Howard through 29 games leads the team with a .377 average, scoring 14 runs and has 23 runs batted in which tie him for the team lead. Cory Hornyak is the other member of the team with 23 runs batted in. Hornyak has also played in 31 games with a .337 average, hitting 4 home runs, is the team leader with 26 runs scored and also is one of the five players with 11 stolen bases. He has also pitched in 8 games, working 25.33 innings, has a 2-1 record with 1 save and a 2.76 earned run average.

Kirk Salinski is second on the team with a .375 average through 24 games. Salinski has collected 23 singles, has batted in 17, scored 21 run and is another one of the five players with 11 stolen bases. One of the others is Anthony Munoz who has played in 27 games and has a .254 average. He also has drawn 18 walks and scored 16 runs. Jake Cappelletty is second on the team in runs batted in with 22. He has played in 28 games and has a .338 average along with 16 runs scored. Leading the team in stolen bases is Casey Winckowski with 15. He has appeared in 28 games and has a batting average of .342 along with scoring 22 runs.

Although pitching has struggled for the Gold team, they do have a few stand-out performers at this point in the season. Kevin Dunn has pitched in 9 games, working 35.67 innings and has a record of 5-1 with 1 save and a 1.77 earned run average. Brian Koehl has appeared in 8 games and has a 4-1 record with a 2.80 earned run average in 35 innings of work. Tim Henneman has pitched in 26.33 innings over 8 games and has a record of 4-2 with an earned run average of 4.78.

GM Timofeev added that the Gold team is “a young solid team with great leadership.” He also says that the team “is a hitting team, they see the ball well and drive it.” They are scheduled to play All-American Coach on Wednesday the 23rd at Joe E. Brown Field and Dan Rodgers on Friday the 25th at Bowman Field.