Three Is Better Than One
Published on February 24, 2023 under Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Minot Hot Tots News Release
MINOT, ND - The Minot Hot Tots have been busy building a roster of high-caliber collegiate talent. Athletes from universities all over the country will be playing together in Minot at Corbett Field. Over the last month, the team has released the signing of 8 players onto the roster for their inaugural season.
Recently, a catcher, Karson Evans, was added to the roster to represent Louisiana Tech University. Coach, Mitchell Gallagher, stated that he has always respected the baseball program at LA Tech, and knows that they produce high-caliber players. After announcing that Karson would be playing for the Hot Tots this summer, the team decided to add two more players from the university to their roster.
The first athlete added, is a sophomore outfielder and second baseman, Thaxton Berch. Berch is originally from Jackson Mississippi and attended Jackson Preparatory High School before committing to play at LA Tech. While in High school he lettered 3 times in baseball and was awarded the most valuable newcomer to the team in 2019. Also in 2019, he was on the 6A MAIS State Baseball Championship winning team. Last year, in his freshman season with Louisiana Tech, he had 37 at-bats and recorded a season and career high with a three-hit game at Old Dominion. Berch along with his other teammates is ready to be up in Minot playing baseball this summer. "I am excited to be coming to Minot this summer and being a Hot Tot," said Berch.
CJ (Craig) Sturiale is the second athlete added from LA Teach. Sturiale is an outfielder and left-handed pitcher from Denham Springs, Louisiana, and is headed into his freshman season with the team. Before committing to LA Tech, he played for Catholic High School. Last year, in his senior season, Sturiale and his teammates won the 5A Select Division 1 State Baseball Championship, which was the 5 one in school history, and the first since 2013. The baseball program at Catholic High School was recently ranked the 26th-best high school baseball program in the nation by Collegiate Baseball News. As a senior, Sturiale was ranked as the overall 17th-best player in Louisiana, and 6th outfielder in Louisiana by Perfect Game. Sturiale is ready to come up North to play this summer. "I am excited to be going to North Dakota to play for the Hot Tots," said Sturiale. "It will be a new experience for me being from the south, and I'm looking forward to playing some baseball."
Louisiana Tech University is a Division I program in Conference USA, based in Ruston, Louisiana. The baseball program has been around since 1940 and has a strong record of success with 21 conference championships, 2 tournament championships, and 7 NCAA Division I championship game appearances. The last decade has been fruitful for the program with 6 Top 5 finishes in their regular season conference and 7 conference tournament appearances which resulted in 4 years making it to at least the semi-final match-up or further.
Louisiana Tech has been gaining momentum over the last two seasons. The program saw a historic year in its 2021 season. While the team finished 1st in the regular season conference, with a 40-win season, only the 6th in program history. In the conference tournament, the team finished 2nd behind Old Dominion, and in the Ruston Regional finished 2nd behind NC State. Last season the team also finished with impressive statistics with a 2nd place regular season standing, and ultimately a championship title in the conference tournament.
Gallagher is very excited to be able to add more talent of this level onto the team for the summer and is confident that these two players will be able to fill in some missing pieces to the roster. "I'm excited to bring two more Tech guys. Thaxton and CJ are both high-energy guys that will add tremendous value in all areas of the game," said Gallagher. "Thaxton being a guy that can roam around the outfield and also slide into the infield if needed will give our lineup some versatility and CJ being a two-way player will give us some depth this summer. These guys are excited to come up this summer and I can't wait to see what they can do."
Fans that are excited to see high-caliber baseball this summer can find information on purchasing tickets at the Hot Tots website. The website also contains information on employment opportunities, group outings, the season schedule, and more. Fans are encouraged to head to www.hottotsbaseball.com as well as sign up for the Hot Tots e-newsletter to be the first to know about season updates and team news.
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
