ThunderBolts complete trade with River City
Published on July 23, 2009 under Frontier League (FL)
Windy City ThunderBolts News Release
The Windy City ThunderBolts completed a trade Thursday afternoon with the River City Rascals, acquiring catcher Pete Paris in exchange for right-handed pitcher Stephen Flake.
Paris, a rookie from Georgia College and State University, had been hitting .359 as the number three catcher in River City. In 20 games, he has also doubled three times and collected nine RBIs. In the deal, the Bolts receive a strong catcher to compliment Dan Jordan behind the plate. The need for a catcher was created when All-Star Zach Aakhus was placed on the 14-day injured list this afternoon. Paris can also be used as a designated hitter, having filled that role three times this year for the Rascals.
This past spring for the GC&SU Bobcats, Paris hit .328 in 43 games with a team leading nine homers and 42 RBI. In three years, Paris collected 175 hits.
Though Paris has swung the bat very well this season, coming straight out of college, he was squeezed out of a lot of playing time due to Joe Billick and Danny Sawyer playing so well in front of him. He will likely get a better chance to see some action with Windy City.
In exchange, the ThunderBolts had to give up a 2008 All-Star in Flake. He had struggled as a starter this year and was recently moved to the bullpen. With the Rascals, he will be reunited with Sawyer, his batterymate from a year ago. Whether he will start or come out of the bullpen with River City is unknown. After posting a 10-3 mark with a 4.04 ERA in 2008 Flake is 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA this season in 16 appearances.
Both players involved in the deal will not have to go far to join their new teams. The ThunderBolts and Rascals start a three game series against each other on Thursday night at Standard Bank Stadium in Crestwood. The game is scheduled for a 7:05 start. During the series the ThunderBolts will welcome the 800,000th fan in franchise history into the ballpark. The lucky fan will receive a pair of 2010 season tickets, a hat and t-shirt from the ThunderStore and will have the opportunity to throw out a first pitch at 2009 ThunderBolts regular season home game. For information or tickets, call 708-489-BALL or visit the team's website at www.wcthunderbolts.com
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