Sullivan Named TCL Player of the Week

Published on June 26, 2012 under Texas Collegiate League (TCL)
East Texas PumpJacks News Release


The East Texas Pump Jacks hot start has not only vaulted to team into first place in the standings, but it's resulted in several individual accolades as well.

For the second-straight week, a Pump Jack was named the Texas Collegiate League Player of the Week. Tyler Sullivan was named the award's recipient for the week ending June 24, one week after Kirby Pellant received the honor.

Sullivan was scorching hot at the plate in the six games he played last week, leading the league with a .524 batting average. In the process, he had four multi-hit games and scored eight runs for the Jacks. He also produced on the basepaths, swiping five bags as East Texas went 5-1 in those six games to take over first place in the TCL standings.

Sullivan, coming off a solid freshman campaign at the University of the Pacific, is now leading the TCL in batting with a .426 average.

Sullivan, one of three Tiger teammates on the Pump Jacks this summer, will be joined by a fourth when freshman hurler Bryce Lombardi lands in East Texas Tuesday. Also arriving in Kilgore is a name quite familiar to Pump Jacks fans: Kash Kalkowski, who returns to East Texas after playing for the Jacks in 2011.

Lombardi joins Sullivan, Taylor Murphy and Mike Hager to form a quartet of Tigers on the Pump Jacks roster. A right-handed pitcher, Lombardi most recently pitched for the Kitsap Blue Jackets in the well-regarded West Coast League, making five appearances spanning four innings while striking out three batters.

At Pacific this spring, the freshman made 19 appearances and three starts, racking up 30.2 innings alongside Hager and former Pump Jack John Prato Matthews.

Boasting a fastball in the low 90's, Lombardi is expected to serve as the Tigers' closer next spring.

While Lombardi bolsters the bullpen, Kalkowski will most certainly provide a boost at the plate. A member of last summer's record-setting Pump Jacks squad, he batted .319 with 11 RBI and nine doubles in just 20 games with an on-base percentage of .440. His summer in East Texas was cut short when he was hit by a pitch - for the 12th time of the season - and broke his hand.

This past spring, Kalkowski was a trusted bat in the Huskers' order. He hit .310 with four homers and 37 RBI in 48 games, 42 of them starts. He also tied for second on the team with seven stolen bases in eight attempts and added eight doubles.

Kalkowski came to the Pump Jacks after a highly successful transition from the mound to the field following shoulder surgery in 2010. He earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors in the spring of 2011 while ranking second on the team with 42 RBIs, 12 doubles, three triples and four home runs along with a .299 batting average. He was drafted last summer in the 50th round of the MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals. It was the second time he has been drafted, having also been selected in the 49th round in 2008 by the Tampa Bay Rays out of high school.

The two newcomers replace a pair of departing players. Eric Escobedo has returned home because of an illness in the family, while Whitt Dorsey has returned to the South Alabama campus for summer school.

The Jacks enjoy a day off on Tuesday before returning to historic Driller Park Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday will be the first Western Wednesday of the summer, when fans can enjoy barbecue nachos along with Ziegnebock beer. The Jacks take on the Alexandria Aces, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

East Texas welcomes the Woodlands Strykers on Thursday for another installment of the popular Thirsty Thursdays. Fans can beat the heat with 50-cent soft drinks, one dollar draft beers and frozen margaritas for just three dollars.

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Texas Collegiate League Stories from June 26, 2012


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