Captains invite four from open tryouts

Published on May 2, 2009 under American Association (AA)
Shreveport-Bossier Captains News Release


SHREVEPORT, La. - More than 35 hopefuls from six states, including a pair from Massachusetts, arrived at Fair Grounds Field Saturday morning, hoping to earn a spot on the Shreveport-Bossier Captains' spring training roster. When the Captains set their open tryouts, they guaranteed that at least one player attending would be invited to spring training. The team exceeded that guarantee, when four players from the tryout impressed manager Ricky VanAsselberg and his staff enough and will get to stick around this week.

Local product outfielder/infielder Cody Marshall, outfielder Matt Busbee, and pitchers Nathaniel Fornea and Jason Herman, outfielder all were added to the Captains' spring training roster. The rest of the roster is due to report Sunday, with workouts beginning on Monday.

"I was impressed with a lot of the guys that came out today," Captains manager Ricky VanAsselberg said. "But of course, we couldn't take everyone, and I think each of these four guys has a good shot to make our final roster."

Marshall, a 6-foot 2-inch, 215-pound righty hitter, played for Elgin (Ill.) College and Delta State (Miss.) University before coming to LSU-Shreveport this year.

Busbee hails from Faunsdale, Ala., and attended the University of West Alabama. Last year, he hit .308, starting all but six of the team's games, with a homer and 37 RBIs, to go along with 13 stolen bases. The 6-foot, 195-pound righty hitter was named to the All-Gulf South Conference Second Team after his lone season at UWA.

Herman is the only one of the quartet who has prior professional experience, having been drafted twice, by the Braves in the 48th round of the 2000 draft and by the Pirates in the 32nd round of in 2005. The Marshfield, Mo., native spent two seasons with the Pirates organization, posting a 4-5 record in Rookie and class-A ball. The 6-foot-3, 215-lb. righty then spent 2007 split between independent Winnipeg (Golden League) and Gateway (Frontier League). In his career, Herman is 9-8 with a 3.93 ERA, holding opponents to a .271 average.

Fornea, a 6-foot-2, 200-lb. righty, pitched for Stephen F. Austin in his hometown of Nacogdoches for two seasons before playing for Texas Tech in 2008. Pitching mostly out of the bullpen, he went 5-11 in his collegiate career with a 5.85 ERA.

The full Captains' spring training roster is available on the Captains' Web site, and detailed profiles on more players will be provided in the coming days.

The Shreveport-Bossier Captains open the 2009 season in Pensacola on May 14, and will be on the road for the first series of their 2009 campaign. All games will be broadcast on ESPN Radio, KRMD-1340 AM as well as streaming live on supertalk1340.com, with streaming video provided by NiftyTV on www.sbcaptains.com. The Shreveport-Bossier Captains' first game at Fair Grounds Field will be on May 19 against Grand Prairie. For information on tickets, promotions, advertising, and other opportunities with the Captains, check out the team's Web site at www.sbcaptains.com, or call the Fair Grounds Field office at (318) 636-5555.

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American Association Stories from May 2, 2009


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