Sports stats



Yoshida Buckles Knees In Exhibition

May 18, 2010 - Golden Baseball League (GBL) News Release


(Chico, CA. May 18th, 2010) During Tuesday's exhibition with a local semi-pro team,18 year old Japanese knuckleballer Eri Yoshida made more than her knuckleball buckle over; so did the hitter's knees. Throwing strikes with good velocity on both the knuckleball and fastball, the "Knuckle Princess" as she has been affectionately nicknamed, worked two innings in a final tuneup before the Outlaws regular season begins later this week.

The Outlaws opponent, made up primarily by ex-college players from Northern California, had a bird's eye view of the knuckleball dancing its way through the strike zone. Outlaws catcher Mike Rose, who spent time in the majors over parts of three season with the Dodgers, Cardinals and Athletics, came away impressed with her ability to read the hitters and what pitch they were looking for. "She (Eri) is really thinking about how to set guys up using all of her pitches," said Rose. "They (batters) were definitely guessing and it worked to her advantage."

In the first inning, Yoshida induced a pop fly to begin the inning. After walking the second batter, she promptly picked him off first base. "Now that is how you play baseball," gushed her pitching coach, former major leaguer Wayne Franklin, who is also a starting pitcher in the Outlaws rotation. Yoshida then finished the first frame by getting a pop up around the second base bag for the final out.

The second inning was better than the first, with Yoshida getting the side out in order with a couple more fly outs and a ground ball to shortstop. Yoshida threw 17 pitches overall in facing the minimum six batters in her two innings of work.

Yoshida got her opportunity to bat in the bottom of the second inning with one man on, drawing a five-pitch walk. During the sequence, on a called strike, the crowd in attendance at Cowan Field on the campus of Butte College voiced their displeasure with the call. After reaching first, Yoshida stole second base without a throw. After a sacrifice pushed her over to third base, Yoshida scored on an two-RBI single from Mikael Jova. After scoring, Yoshida came to the dugout, where her teammates gave her congratulatory high fives.

The day ended for the knuckler with some extra work in the bullpen with pitching coach Wayne Franklin and catcher Robbie Alcombrack.

Right now, Yoshida is scheduled to pitch in her number "3" home white uniform for the first time as an Outlaw on May 29th at Nettleton Stadium against Tijuana. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 pm.

The Outlaws open the 2010 GBL season on the road this Friday, May 21st at Tijuana. The home opener for the Outlaws is on Wednesday May 26th at 6:35 pm against Tijuana. Full-season tickets and mini-plans are available, as are single game tickets. To purchase tickets, you can call the Outlaws office at 530-345-3210, buy them online at www.chicooutlaws.com or stop in person at the Outlaws office located at 313 Walnut Street, Suite 110. About The Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League, Presented by Safeway Inc./VONS, is a professional baseball league operating in the western United States and Canada. Golden Baseball League teams include the Calgary Vipers in Calgary, Alberta Canada; the Chico Outlaws in Chico, CA; the Edmonton Capitals in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, the Orange County Flyers in Fullerton; CA, the Na Koa Ikaika in Maui, HI; the St. George roadrunners in St. George, Utah; the Yuma Scorpions in Yuma; AZ; the Victoria Seals in Victoria, British Columbia Canada; and the Tucson Toros in Tucson, AZ. Over 100 GBL players have been acquired by major league baseball or professional international baseball organizations during the last four years and over 70 former major leaguers have played in the GBL including MLB All-Stars Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco, Jose Lima, Robert Fick, Junior Spivey, Scott Spiezio and Felix Jose. For general information, please visit our League web site at www.goldenbaseball.com.

• Discuss this story on the Golden Baseball League message board...

Golden Baseball League Stories from May 18, 2010


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central