FL Washington Wild Things

Open Try Outs Set for Saturday Morning

Published on May 1, 2009 under Frontier League (FL)
Washington Wild Things News Release


Washington, PA - The Washington Wild Things, presented by Washington Federal Savings Bank, continued to tweak the 2009 roster as they head into Saturday's open try out. Washington added catcher Alan Robbins and outfielder Alex Paluka.

Robbins, a Bridgeport, WV native was a teammate of Wild Things Chris Carrara and Jacob Dempsey at Winthrop University. He was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 32nd round of the 2006 June first-year-player draft. He appeared in 17 games for the Gulf Coast Phillies during his debut season.

He spent the 2008 season with the Clearwater Threshers of the Florida State League, appearing in a career high 57 games with three doubles, two triples, one home run, and 15 RBI. He went 3-for-4 with a triple on June 24th versus Vero Beach and went 3-for-4 with a double, run scored and an RBI on July 23rd versus Jupiter.

He split the 2007 season between Williamsport of the New York Penn League and Lakewood of the South Atlantic League, appearing in 21 games with four doubles, one home run, and seven RBI.

Robbins started every game behind the plate his final two seasons at Winthrop. During his senior season in 2006, he batted .242 with five home runs and 35 RBI. He turned in an impressive performance at the NCAA Regionals in Chapel Hill, batting .455 with a team-leading five RBI and four runs scored, as the only Eagle to homer in the series. In 2005, Robbins was named to the Big South All-Conference team, batting .289 with three home runs and 30 RBI.

"Alan is a solid catcher that we're excited to have coming to camp," said field manager Mark Mason. "He's been solid everywhere he's played. "

Paluka, a native of Murraysville, PA appeared in 24 games, starting 23 for Point Park in 2008 where he batted .235 with one double, one home run, and seven RBI. He had attended University of Iowa and Eastern Connecticut State University before transferring to Point Park for his junior year. Paluka played four years of baseball at Franklin Regional High School under Wild Things' pitching coach Larry Wayman. He was a four year starter and four year letterman as well as team captain in 2005.

"Alex is someone who we've worked out, and we've watched him hit against AAA competition. We liked what we saw and wanted to give him an opportunity to come to camp," added Mason.

In other transactions, the Wild Things announced the retirement of OF Jason Appel.

The Wild Things will host and open try out at CONSOL Energy Park Saturday morning. The entire Frontier League will be in Washington for the league try-outs Monday and Tuesday.

The Wild Things open the 2009 season at home on May 22nd when they'll host the Lake Erie Crusher. Tickets are available on line (www.washingtonwildthings.com) or at the box office.

Check out the Washington Wild Things Statistics

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Frontier League Stories from May 1, 2009


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