AtL Lancaster Stormers

Owens, Reed Back in Lancaster

Published on March 16, 2015 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Lancaster Stormers News Release


Outfielder Jerry Owens, the 2013 Atlantic League batting champion, and left-handed pitcher Nate Reed have signed 2015 contracts, it was announced today by manager Butch Hobson.

Owens, 34, led the Atlantic League with a .341 batting average, Lancaster's franchise record, during the 2013 season. He was amazingly consistent over the course of that season, going consecutive games without a base hit only once. He strung together the second longest hitting streak in club history, a 19-game stretch of success around a short stint with Campeche of the Mexican League.

Along with the league-topping batting average, Owens also finished fifth in the league with 32 stolen bases in the 2013 campaign.

Owens spent a portion of four seasons in the Chicago White Sox outfield, appearing in 93 of his 129 games in 2007. He hit his only big league home run, July 28, 2007, off Toronto's Roy Halladay, to beat the Blue Jays, 2-0. The left-handed hitter also finished in the top ten in the American League with 32 steals in the 2007 season.

The 2013 batting title was the second of Owens' career. In 2005, the California native captured the Southern League hitting crown while playing for Birmingham.

Following the 2013 season, Owens went to Mexico and helped lead Hermosillo to the league championship, hitting .361. He hit .365 for Quintana Roo (Mexico) last spring before coming back to Lancaster. Owens, battling a shoulder injury, collected only one hit in 26 at bats and did not play after June 17.

He proved he was healthy this winter, rapping Mexican Pacific League pitching for a .333 average, tied for third in the league.

"It's exciting to have Jerry back in Lancaster," said Hobson. "He's healthy now, and I look for him to bat first or second and just do the things he does out in center field."

Reed, 27, made the 2013 Barnstormers roster off a spring training tryout. He became an anchor of the bullpen, posting a 1.33 ERA for his first 38 appearances of the year. The Reading native also made five starts down the stretch, winning three. Overall, he was 6-5 with one save and a 2.87 ERA. The former Kutztown star fanned 71 batters in 75.1 innings.

He also teamed with Owens at Hermosillo in the winter of 2013, posting a 0.55 ERA in 16.1 innings of work.

Reed was signed by the Boston Red Sox in the fall of 2013 and spent the 2014 campaign in their system. The one-time Seattle Mariners' farmhand was 3-2 with a 4.48 ERA in 26 games between Class A Salem (VA) and Class AA Portland (ME).

"Nate had a super year for us in 2013," said Hobson. "He'll probably start the year as a power lefty out of the bullpen, but he can be used in multiple roles."

The Lancaster Barnstormers are entering their eleventh season as a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Home games are played at Clipper Magazine Stadium in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Please call 717.509.HITS (4487) or visit LancasterBarnstormers.com for more information.

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Atlantic League Stories from March 16, 2015


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