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NL Gary SouthShore Railcats

RailCats Career Home Run Leader Tanner Townsend to Return in 2007

January 17, 2007 - Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


Gary, Ind. - The Gary SouthShore RailCats Professional Baseball Club announced today that third baseman Tanner Townsend has been signed for the 2007 season. Manager Greg Tagert made the announcement.

Townsend has spent the last two seasons with the RailCats and has become a fan favorite at U. S. Steel Yard. He is the RailCats career leader in home runs, runs scored, and at bats, playing in 180 of the RailCats 193 regular season games over the 2005-'06 seasons and starting all 19 RailCats playoff games at third base. He is regarded by many Northern League observers as one of the league's top defensive players.

Townsend batted .263 with a team-leading 11 home runs and 53 runs batted in in 2006 while setting club single-season records in runs scored (59) and extra base hits (38).

Townsend's 2006 season turned on July 22nd when he was moved into the lead-off spot in the RailCats batting order. At the time of the switch, he was batting .240 with three home runs over his first 53 games, but he hit .291 with eight homers in 40 games after July 22nd. One of the RailCats' top clutch hitters, Townsend hit .412 with the bases loaded in 2006 (17 at bats).

Townsend was an All-Sun Belt Conference selection at the University of Western Kentucky before playing one season in the San Diego Padres organization. He was acquired in one of the best trades in RailCats history on March 2, 2005, when Tagert obtained his rights along with the rights to outfielder Steve Haake from Ohio Valley of the Frontier League in exchange for pitcher Abel Deloera and cash. Haake, like Townsend, has been a key contributor to the RailCats' back-to-back trips to the Northern League Championship Series and '05 league title.

Mueller Returns to Fight for Outfield Spot

The RailCats also announced today that outfielder Dale Mueller has been reacquired from Evansville of the Frontier League for past considerations.

Mueller was traded from Gary to Evansville at the end of spring training in 2006 and played in 91 games for Evansville, batting .245 with one home run and 24 runs batted in while stealing 27 bases in his first full professional season. He finished strong, batting .288 in 30 games in August-September.

Mueller, a product of Butler University in Indianapolis, was the 2005 Horizon League Player of the Year. He played in 10 games for the RailCats in 2005.

More Info: The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a Professional Minor League Baseball Team serving Northwest Indiana and Chicago's south suburbs. For the last three years, they have been chosen "Best Local Spectator Sport" by Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly. Their 96 game schedule includes 47 home games at beautiful U. S. Steel Yard, an award-winning 6,000 seat state-of-the-art facility located next to the Indiana Toll Road (I-90) with easy access to I-65.

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