TCL Brazos Valley Bombers

Bombers 2015 Season Recap: Three-Peat TCL Champs

Published on August 20, 2015 under Texas Collegiate League (TCL)
Brazos Valley Bombers News Release


Bryan-College Station, TX (August 20, 2015) - Another summer, another historic season for the Brazos Valley Bombers as they finish 2015 with a third straight TCL Championship, another top-five national ranking, and many more records shattered in the process.

The Bombers finished 2015 with a 42-9 record in the regular season, and 45-9 following the TCL Playoffs. The Bombers have now won nine consecutive half-season championships and three consecutive TCL titles. Additionally, the 2015 team owns the TCL record for win-percentage in the regular season (.823).

The Bombers defeated the East Texas Pump Jacks in the first round of the TCL Playoffs by a score of 9-0 on the strength of Ethan Landon's no-hitter, the first in TCL Playoff history and the first 9-inning no-hitter ever thrown by a Bomber.

In the TCL Championship Series, the Bombers went head-to-head with the Acadiana Cane Cutters and won the first two games in a best-of-three series by scores of 14-0 and 13-2 to clinch the third TCL Championship in franchise history.

The historic season was reflected in the final CSB Rankings for 2015, as the Bombers finished No. 3 overall out of approximately 400 teams across the country.

With the greatest fans in the TCL already owning all league attendance records, the home crowd at Cellucor Field topped themselves once again in 2015 with the 15th highest attendance average in the nation out of approximately 400 teams. The Bombers finished with an average attendance of 1,848 over 31 home games.

Twelve Bombers were selected as TCL All-Stars in 2015, including; Tyler Lawrence (Murray State), Geonte Jackson (UTSA), Henri Lartigue (Ole Miss), Jimmy Norris (UT-Dallas), Trent Goodrich (Sacramento State), Garrett Benge (Oklahoma State), Blake Kopetsky (Texas A&M), Matt Hilston (UTSA), C.J. Gregory (Oklahoma Wesleyan), Nick Jones (Kansas State), Dakota Mekkes (Michigan State), and Brandon Pennington (West Alabama). In addition to the twelve players, Head Coach Curt Dixon was named Manager for the North All-Star team.

Lawrence was crowned 2015 TCL Home Run Derby Champion and was named MVP of the 2015 TCL All-Star Game. Jackson was the 2015 TCL Player of the Year and the league's batting champion this season as well with a .379 average.

Coach Curt Dixon was named TCL Coach of the Year for the fourth straight year and 10 Bombers were given All-TCL honors following the season. Seven were named to the All-TCL First Team and three more were named to the All-TCL Second Team. Jackson, Lawrence, Norris, HIlston, Mike Walker, C.J. Gregory, and Blake Kopetsky were named to the First Team, while Trent Goodrich, Ben Hollas and Ethan Landon were named to the Second Team.

Thirteen Bombers realized the ultimate dream of being drafted this year in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Pitchers Danny Dopico (11th round, Chicago White Sox), Thomas McIlraith (20th round, New York Mets), Gandy Stubblefield (28th round, Philadelphia Phillies), and Xavier Altimirano (27th round, Oakland A's), along with infielder Garrett Benge (22nd round, Cleveland Indians), and catcher Chris Shaw (14th round, Baltimore Orioles) were selected from the 2015 Bombers.

In addition to the five Bombers from the 2015 squad, eight more from previous seasons were drafted in 2015 as well. Pitchers Jacob McDavid (40th round, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), Icezack Flemming (26th round, New York Yankees), Blake Smith (25th round, Washington Nationals), and A.J. Minter (Competitive Balance Round B, Atlanta Braves), as well as infielder Kolbey Carpenter (33rd round, Houston Astros) were selected from the 2014 TCL Champion Bombers; Guillermo Trujillo (35th round, Baltimore Orioles) and Jake Henson (21st round, Los Angeles Dodgers) were selected from the 2013 National Champion team, and one member of the 2012 Bombers, Andrew Godail (26th round, Philadelphia Phillies), was selected.

Four Bombers were named Player or Pitcher of the Week in the TCL throughout the season. Jackson and Hilston were selected as TCL Players of the Week while C.J. Gregory and Darick Hall were selected as TCL Pitchers of the Week.

Bombers Team Leaders

Batting Average - Geonte Jackson, .379

Runs Batted In - Matt Hilston, 35

Home Runs - Jackson/Hilston/Henri Lartigue, 3

Doubles - Hilston, 12

Triples - Blake Kopetsky/Jimmy Norris, 3

Slugging Percentage - Hilston, .495

Stolen Bases - Jimmy Norris, 34

Earned Run Average - Ethan Landon, 0.91

Wins - C.J. Gregory, 8

Saves - Brandon Pennington, 6

Batters Struck Out - Gregory, 37

Appearances - Nick Jones, 20

Games Played - Trent Goodrich, 44

TCL League Leaders

Batting Average - Jackson, .379

Runs Batted In - Hilston, 35

Stolen Bases - Norris, 34

Wins - Gregory, 8

Appearances - Jones, 20

Geonte Jackson's .379 average is a new single-season franchise record, breaking the previous record set by Jacob House in 2011 (.346). Jimmy Norris' 34 stolen bases were also a new franchise record for a single-season, breaking his own record of 22, which he set last season. C.J. Gregory's 8 wins ties the franchise record for wins in a single-season, which is also the TCL record for wins in a season.

For tickets and information on how to see the Bombers during the 2016 season, please call (979) 779-PLAY, or go to www.bvbombers.com. To follow all upcoming news and developments for the Brazos Valley Bombers, follow or like us on facebook.com/bvbombers, and follow us on Twitter: @BV_Bombers and Instagram: bvbombersbaseball.

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Texas Collegiate League Stories from August 20, 2015


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