Otters add to pitching staff
Published on April 5, 2006 under Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
Four Players Also Commit to Return for 2006
Evansville, IN-The Evansville Otters professional baseball team as announced the signing of right-handed pitcher Mike Bille and left- handed pitcher Ryan Gehring to contracts for the 2006 season.
Mike Bille was signed by the Florida Marlins as a non-drafted free agent last summer and appeared in 18 games for their New York-Penn League affiliate, the Jamestown Jammers, compiling a 3-2 record with two saves and a 3.45 ERA while holding the opposition to a .225 batting average. He was a finalist for the NCAA Division I Stopper of the Year Award by recording 14 saves (a school record) for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2005. Bille was recommended by former Otter employee Brian Chattin, currently the Director of Player Development for the Florida Marlins.
Ryan Gehring comes to Evansville after spending 2005 with the Elizabethon Twins, Minnesota's affiliate in the Appalachian League. Gehring finished last season with a 1-0 record and 3.00 ERA, recording 31 strikeouts in 30 innings and holding batters to a .213 average. He was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he ranks second on the Flames career victory list, fourth in career strikeouts, and sixth in career ERA. Gehring was previously drafted by the Twins in the 33rd round out of high school in 2001.
"Bille figures to solidify the right-hand side of our bullpen," commented Jeff Pohl, director of baseball operations for the Otters. "You can't have too many quality left-handed arms, and Gehring had success in affiliated ball last year."
In other transactions, the Otters resigned right-handed pitcher Dustin Bolton (2-2, 5.73 ERA in 2005) and outfielder Michael Spry (.293 average with nine home runs and 44 RBI between Chillicothe and Evansville) while trading right-handed pitcher Bryan Shartzer to the Florence Freedom for future considerations.
The Evansville Otters were voted a Platinum Winner in the Evansville Courier & Press Reader's Choice Awards and Best Sporting Event by the readers of Evansville Living magazine in 2005. The Otters open the 2006 home schedule on Saturday, May 27 against the Gateway Grizzlies.
More information may be obtained by contacting the Evansville Otters at ottersbb@evansville.net or 812-435-8686.
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