Houck's Re-signing Highlights Month of Moves for the Otters
March 31, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
Evansville Otter Shayne Houck
(Evansville Otters)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Evansville Otters capped an exciting month of moves in March with the re-signing of Frontier League Player of the Year Shayne Houck on Tuesday afternoon.
Houck led the Otters in all triple crown categories in 2014 with a .311 batting average, 22 home runs and 63 runs batted in. He had more home runs than anyone else in the Frontier League last year and his 23 home runs are a new Otters single season record. He has also set the Otters record for most total bases in a season (197).
Evansville also re-signed fellow Frontier League All-Star infielder Josh Allen on Tuesday. Allen hit .290 in his first season of professional baseball with five home runs, 30 runs batted in and 11 stolen bases.
The Otters brought back outfielder Chris Sweeney, re-signing the Pennsylvania native to a contract extension on March 28. Sweeney hit 21 home runs last season and also finished second on the team with 54 RBIs.
Additionally, Evansville also re-signed right-handed pitcher Evan Mott and infielder Cory Urquhart to contract extensions on March 16 and re-signed infielder Phillip Wilson to a contract extension on March 2. Mott was 3-2 last summer with a 2.70 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 40.0 innings pitched. Urquhart played in 66 games last year for the Otters, hitting .268 with a team-best 12 sacrifice bunts. Wilson hit three home runs, drove in 31 runs and recorded 10 doubles.
Evansville signed two new players in March, adding right-hander Ty Cuming on March 27 and lefty Jake Raffaele on March 28. Cuming is a rookie from Red Bank, N.J. who played at Merrimack College, going 5-5 with a 3.85 ERA in 2014. Raffaele is a Fort Worth, Texas native who has played two seasons of professional baseball. Most recently, Raffaele finished last year with a 1.76 ERA for the Texas Rangers rookie ball team in the Arizona League.
The Otters begin the 2015 season at home on Friday, May 15 when they host the Traverse City Beach Bums in a 6:35 p.m. game at Historic Bosse Field.
This year is the upcoming 100th Anniversary of Bosse Field's first ballgame in 1915. The Otters will have a year-long celebration to commemorate the event with more details to be released at a future date.
Fans wishing to purchase season tickets for the historic season, or businesses interested in participating with the Otters can contact the team front office at (812) 435-8686.
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 Evansville Otter Shayne Houck |
Frontier League Stories from March 31, 2015
- Houck's Re-signing Highlights Month of Moves for the Otters - Evansville Otters
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