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River City Deals For A New Outfielder

January 14, 2008 - Frontier League (FL)
Oakland County Cruisers News Release


O'Fallon, MO - The River City Rascals made a deal with the Bradenton Juice over the weekend which brought outfielder Luke Barganier to O'Fallon for future considerations.

Barganier, 24, was a thirtieth round selection by the Houston Astros in 2004 and played last season in the South Coast League with Bradenton where he hit .292, scored 79 runs and led the league with nine triples in 89 games.

"We've been looking for a veteran we can plug into the outfield next season," Rascals Manager Toby Rumfield said. "Luke is a high on-base percentage guy and with the guys he'll have coming up behind him, we expect him to score a lot of runs for us next season."

The Rascals middle of the lineup has seen a boost already in the month of January with former all-stars Bobby Mosby and Phil Laurent signing contracts to rejoin the team.

"When you look at Luke's career, he really came into his own last season," Rascals President and General Manager Steve Malliet said. "We've found what could be our everyday centerfielder."

The Rascals expect Barganier to step in and take over the leadoff role which was a spot in the lineup filled by seven different Rascals a year ago.

The addition of Barganier gives the Rascals three left-handed bats roaming right, left and center, with Jeff Miller and Laurent rounding out a potential opening day starting outfield. With switch hitting catcher Andrew Sweet rejoining the Rascals this season, Rumfield will have the option of alternating righty-lefty throughout the order.

For continued updates on the 2008 River City Rascals, including their home schedule visit www.rivercityrascals.com. The Rascals open up their 2008 season at home on May 24 against the Gateway Grizzlies at 7:05 pm.

Other Rascal News:

In the Rascals online poll for All-Diamond Team to commemorate 2008 being the tenth anniversary of baseball in O'Fallon, Missouri, Anthony Slagle was chosen by the fans with 50.8% of the vote to represent second base.

Slagle played for the Rascals from 2005 through 2006 and hit a career .255 with 35 RBI and scored 69 runs. The online fan voting continues throughout the month of January and concludes in February. Each week a new position will be available to be voted on and this week the All-Diamond Shortstop will be decided.



Frontier League Stories from January 14, 2008


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