PGCBL Opening Night Game Notes

June 9, 2011 - Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) News Release

Lights, Camera, Action

The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League was founded in the fall of 2010 by a group of eight teams located in upstate New York that broke away from the New York Collegiate Baseball League following the 2010 summer season. The teams joined forces with the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, based Perfect Game USA scouting service to form the PGCBL. The league opens play for the first time tonight at four sites across the Empire State. The first four PGCBL games will be played at Veterans Memorial Park in Little Falls, N.Y., Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam, N.Y., Dunn Field in Elmira, N.Y. and at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds in Watertown, N.Y. Follow the PGCBL Twitter account @PGCBLbaseball on this historic night to be a part of many firsts for the league.

Twenty-Four Players Taken in MLB Draft

While the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League is entering its first season, seven of eight member organizations have been playing baseball for some time. Twenty- four players with ties to teams in the PGCBL were selected in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft which ran from Monday, June 6 through Wednesday, June 8.

Rd. 6, 182 - Dan Gamache (Amsterdam '09), Pittsburgh

Rd. 10, 302 - Taylor Lewis (Amsterdam '10), Pittsburgh

Rd. 11, 345 - Garrett Baker (Mohawk Valley '10), Los Angeles (AL)

Rd. 13, 394 - John Pedrotty (Watertown '09), Arizona

Rd. 14, 445 - Ryan Kemp (Mohawk Valley '10), Cincinnati

Rd. 15, 472 - Braden Kapteyn (Amsterdam '09), Boston

Rd. 17, 526 - Sean Jamieson (Elmira '09), Oakland

Rd. 18, 558 - Ben Alsup (Amsterdam '08), Colorado

Rd. 21, 655 - Carlos Gonzalez Jr. (Watertown '11), Cincinnati

Rd. 22, 683 - Matt Colantonio (Amsterdam '09-'10), San Diego

Rd. 23, 714 - Mike Mason (Mohawk Valley '09), Texas

Rd. 27, 820 - Alex Todd (Cooperstown '10), Houston

Rd. 29, 900 - Jon Kosco (Glens Falls '08), Tampa Bay

Rd. 30, 905 - Mikey Reynolds (Mohawk Valley '11), Baltimore

Rd. 32, 987 - Mike Mergenthaler (Elmira '08), San Francisco

Rd. 32, 991 - Greg Herbst (Watertown '08), Philadelphia

Rd. 33, 992 - Chris Lashmet (Glens Falls '09-'10), Pittsburgh

Rd. 33, 998 - Jack Waggoner (Glens Falls '08), Cleveland

Rd. 37, 1112 - Ro Jones (Glens Falls '09), Pittsburgh

Rd. 39, 1198 - Chris Cox (Watertown '10), Toronto

Rd. 41, 1232 - Jon Schwind (Amsterdam '10), Pittsburgh

Rd. 42, 1279 - Shane Davis (Glens Falls '08), Toronto

Rd. 45, 1371 - Cory Farris (Amsterdam '09), Chicago (AL)

Rd. 48, 1455 - Ricky Pacione (Amsterdam '08), Los Angeles (AL)

Amsterdam had the most prosperous draft with eight former players selected and two of those eight were chosen in the first 10 rounds. Glens Falls followed with five players taken and then Watertown and Mohawk Valley tied for third with four draft picks each. Two former Elmira players were tabbed and Cooperstown, entering its second season, had one player drafted.

Other Drafted Players

While 24 players with PGCBL ties were taken in the 2011 draft, other drafted players will be suiting up for teams this summer. Here are the drafted players currently listed on PGCBL rosters.

Amsterdam - DeMarcus Henderson (Miss. State), Rd. 43, 1293, Houston 2010

Amsterdam - Josh Alexander (Utah), Rd. 19, 577, Cincinnati 2010

Amsterdam - Jimmy Dykstra (LSU), Rd. 50, 1520 Col. 2010/Rd. 40, 1218 Boston 2009

Amsterdam - Taylor Stark (Miss. State), Rd. 42, 1256, Washington 2010

Glens Falls - Ricky Claudio (St. Thomas, Fla.) Rd. 34, 1032, Minnesota 2009

Glens Falls - Nick Gonzalez (South Florida), Rd. 30, 921, Philadelphia 2010

Watertown - Kaleb Barlow (Chipola), Rd. 43, 1310, Colorado 2010

Watertown - Larry Balkwill (Siena), Rd. 41, 1230, Detroit 2009

Mohawk Valley - Mikey Reynolds (PVCC), Rd. 30, 905, Baltimore 2011

Amsterdam's Phelps Called Up To Indians

The good news for the Amsterdam Mohawks franchise on Wednesday was not limited to having eight players chosen in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. Wednesday morning, Cord Phelps (Amsterdam '06) was recalled by the Cleveland Indians from the Triple-A Columbus Clippers of the International League. Phelps made his MLB debut on Wednesday afternoon against the Minnesota Twins at Jacobs Field. He started at second base and went 0-for-4. In 55 games this season with Columbus, Phelps hit .299 with seven home runs and 40 RBI. The Stanford University product led the Amsterdam Mohawks with 24 RBI in 2006 and batted .276 in 36 games. He was named All-NYCBL second team.

Phelps is the second player from a PGCBL team to be recalled to the Majors this season. Cody Eppley (Elmira '06) was recalled by the Texas Rangers in April. He became the first Elmira Pioneer (at the summer collegiate level) to reach the Majors. Eppley pitched 10 games in relief for the defending American League champions. The VCU graduate is currently with the Triple-A Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League.

Welcome Back, Kotter

Summer baseball returns to Newark, N.Y., for the first time since 2005 when the Newark Pilots play their inaugural game tonight against the Watertown Wizards at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds in Watertown, N.Y. The Pilots open the season with six- straight road contests before flying home for their first home game at Colburn Park on June 17 against the Watertown Wizards. Colburn Park has not hosted a team since the Wayne County Raptors of the New York Collegiate Baseball League played at the facility during the 2005 season. The Newark Raptors franchise won the NYCBL championship in 1999 under the direction of current Saint Joseph's (Pa.) University head coach Fritz Hamburg.

Spanning the Globe

Rosters for teams in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball have players from all over the country. Young men are coming to upstate New York from as far away as Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Dylan Baker (Tacoma C.C.) of the Glens Falls Golden Eagles is from Juneau, Alaska, and was the Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year in 2010. Chase Tokunaga (Feather River) of the Albany Dutchmen is from Wailuku, Hawaii. However, those two aren't the only players from outside the continental United States. Cooperstown catcher Gaby Ramirez (Wagner) and Watertown shortstop Angel Rosa (Alcorn State) each call Puerto Rico home. Rosa is a product of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and he is from Guaynabo, P.R. Ramirez is from San Juan, P.R., however he played his high school baseball at the Perkiomen School in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Back For More

Seven of eight head coaches in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League managed last summer in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. Amsterdam's Keith Griffin has helmed the Mohawks to two league championships in a row. He is entering his third season with the Tribe. John Mayotte, the Glens Falls skipper, has the longest tenure with his team. Mayotte has been the only bench boss in the history of the Golden Eagles franchise. He is entering his eighth season with the team. Elmira's Dan Shwam was the Coach of the Year in the NYCBL last season. He skippered Elmira to the NYCBL Western Division title and on to the NYCBL Championship Series in his first season with the franchise. Chris Ebright may be with a new team in Newark however he has experience with the NYCBL's Hornell Dodgers. Ebright guided the Dodgers for two seasons and took the team to the finals of the 2009 NYCBL playoffs. Mohawk Valley's Troy Gerlach is returning for his third season in the league. The DiamondDawgs manager is in his second year in Little Falls and he was an assistant coach under Keith Griffin with Amsterdam in 2009. Albany's Nick Davey is entering his second season in the Capital District. Davey's Dutchmen led the NYCBL in stolen bases last season and the team tied for the league lead in home runs. Eric Coleman of Cooperstown is no stranger to summer baseball, he led the Okotoks Dawgs to the 2007 Western Major Baseball League championship.

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Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 9, 2011

• PGCBL Opening Night Game Notes - PGCBL
• Pioneers Make Donation Pledge to Friends of Dunn Field - Elmira Pioneers
• Albany Dutchmen Release Promotions Schedule - Albany Dutchmen

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