AA St. Paul Saints

Saints Agree to Terms with Third Baseman Bourquin, Re-Sign Hurler Coe

Published on February 7, 2012 under American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN (February 7, 2012) - St. Paul Saints manager George Tsamis is making sure the key pieces to the 2011 team that went to the American Association Championship Series return for the 2012 season. Third baseman Ronnie Bourquin agreed to terms and will play out his option year while right-handed pitcher Robert Coe re-signed.

The 26-year-old Bourquin had one of the best overall seasons in his six year career. He hit .300 with 12 homers and 51 RBI in 90 games. In 333 at bats he scored 59 runs, clubbed 26 doubles, one triple, was 6-9 in stolen bases, had an on base percentage of .394 and a slugging percentage of .492. He had two lengthy hitting streaks, hitting safely in 12 straight from May 29-June 10 and then set a career high by hitting safely in 13 straight from June 25-July 9. On top of that he reached base safely in 22 straight from June 16-July 11. Perhaps the most incredible streak of the season was scoring a run in a career high 13 straight games from June 25-July 9.

In the first round of the American Association Playoffs, Bourquin came up huge with two three hit games as the Saints went on to defeat the Winnipeg Goldeyes three games to two. In the pivotal game five Bourquin went 3-4 with two doubles, a homer and two runs scored.

Bourquin was a 2nd round pick by the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 June Amateur Draft and showed great discipline by finishing second in the New York-Penn League that season with 46 walks. In 2007 he finished seventh in the New York-Penn League with a .325 average and finished fifth in walks in the Midwest League in 2008 with 66.

The story of the 24-year-old Coe is an incredible one due to his limited pitching experience. In his first professional season in 2011, he was 3-1 with a 4.93 ERA in 18 games (one start) for the Saints. In 38.1 innings pitched he walked 11 and struck out 19 while opponents hit .272 against him. He stepped up when the spotlight was the brightest in the playoffs. He got the start in Game One of the first round at Winnipeg and hurled 6.0 innings allowing one run on five hits, but he didn't receive a decision. On just three days rest he was given the ball to start Game 5 of the first round and tossed 4.0 innings allowing three runs on eight hits and left with the game tied at three as the Saints went on to win 5-4.

Coe joined the Saints on June 21 after finishing up his season at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. While with the WarHawks Coe was predominately a catcher and in 49 games last season, he batted .350 with four homers and 48 RBI. He was named 2011 First Team All-WIAC.

However, his 0.73 ERA in nine appearances is what most interested the Saints. Coe threw 12.1 innings during his 2011 senior campaign, giving up just one earned run on eight hits and four walks, while striking out 12 batters. Coe was red hot during the Division III NCAA tournament, throwing 4.0 innings of shutout baseball, giving up just two hits and striking out three guys, with three of those innings coming against Hamline University, who are managed by current Saints Pitching Coach, Jason Verdugo. It was on the advice of Verdugo that the Saints inked Coe last season.

The Saints have re-signed five players this offseason, agreed to terms with one player, signed one free agent and acquired one player via trade. Along with those eight players the Saints picked up the option on six others and their roster currently stands at 14, six pitchers and eight position players.

The Saints begin their 20th season on Thursday, May 17 with a 7:05 p.m. game against the Gary SouthShore Railcats. Group tickets and specialty seating areas are on sale by contacting the Saints office at 651-644-6659 or visiting saintsbaseball.com. Single game tickets will go on sale in March.

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