Crawdads Alumni Report February 11

Monday, February 11
BIRTHDAYS:
Jason Evans ('93, 2B/OF) turns 42. Selected by the White Sox in the 12th round of the 1992 draft out of the University of Oklahoma (he also played at the Univ. of California), Evans played a utility role for the Crawdads in his lone season at Hickory. At the plate, Evans hit .212 in 82 games, with six doubles, a home and 29 RBI. He moved on to play at South Bend for two seasons (1994-1995) and eventually worked his way up to AAA by 1997 where he played at Nashville and at AAA Calgary in 1998 before leaving the game. Evans currently resides in Hickory.

Johnny Malaver ('93, P) turns 40. Signed by the White Sox in 1989, the native of Caracas, Venezuela joined the Crawdads for only nine game out of the bullpen. Malaver was 1-1 with a 10.38 ERA. He struck out six, walked 14, and gave up 20 hits in 13 innings. Malaver was released in 1993 and did not pitch again.

Ben Oglivie ('99 hitting coach) turns 64. The former American League slugger with Boston, Detroit and Milwaukee joined the staff of Tracy Woodson took made it to the playoffs in 1999. While in Hickory, Oglivie's hitters set a team mark with 134 home runs.(since eclipsed in 2004 with 135). Since leaving the Pirates organization, Oglivie has coached in minor league systems with San Diego, Tampa Bay and Detroit. His last coaching stint came with the Tigers low-A affiliate at West Michigan in 2011. The native of Panama was recently voted into the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS:
Chris Hernandez ('04, P/ pitching coach Cal State Los Angeles) Game 1: Dixie St. College 21 CSLA (2-4) 18. Game 2: Dixie St. College 6 CSLA (2-5) 0.

Sunday, February 10
BIRTHDAYS:
Jake Brigham ('09-'10, P) turns 25. Drafted in the 6th round by the Texas Rangers in 2006 out of Central Florida Christian High, Brigham spent the entire 2009 season with Hickory, then returned during the second half of the 2010 campaign for the team's playoff chase. In his first season, Brigham went 2-11 with a 5.52 ERA in 25 games- 17 starts. His 11 losses are the 5th most in a season. He also struggled in the field, setting a team record with nine errors as a pitcher. However, the highlight of his season came on Memorial Day at Hagerstown, MD, when he combined with Martin Perez to strike out 17 batters, the most in a nine-inning game. Brigham returned to Hickory in 2010 after a stint with High A- Bakersfield and dominated the South Atlantic League. He threw two complete games, including a masterpiece at Greensboro on August 10th in which he retired 26 straight batters after allowing two hits to open the game. That game earned him an award by milb.com for the Low A Game of the Year. Brigham pitched at AA- Frisco (Texas) the past two seasons, earning a selection to the Texas League All-Star game in 2012. Soon after, Brigham was traded to the Chicago Cubs in a deal for catcher Geovanny Soto. He returned to the Rangers this past off-season in a trade for pitcher Barrett Loux.

Kurt Bultmann ('99-00, 2B) turns 36. The all-ACC standout from Clemson was selected in the 34th round in 1999 by Pittsburgh. He came straight to Hickory out of college and hit .356 in 13 games with nine RBI before moving on to High A- Lynchburg. However, Bultmann returned to Hickory in 2000 and struggled. In 47 games, he hit .207 with seven doubles, a homer and nine RBI. Bultmann was released after the season and did not return to pro ball.

Matt Thompson ('10-'11, P) turns 23. The native of Arlington, Tex. was picked by the Rangers in the 7th round of the 2008 draft out of Grace Prep Academy. Thompson had a strong first half of the 2010 season, for which he was rewarded with a selection to the SAL All-Star Game. However, Thompson struggled in the second half and finished the season 9-9 with a 4.66 ERA. In 129.1 innings that season, Thompson struck out 130 and walked only 23 batters. His 1.60 walk-per-9 innings ratio is the 6th lowest for a season in team history. He returned to the Hickory in 2011 and battled mightily with wildness. Thompson set team records that season with 80 walks and 30 wild pitches. He finished 2011 at 3-5 with a 5.91 ERA and a save in 23 games- 18 starts. Thompson is second overall in team history with 226 strikeouts.

Duke Welker ('08, P) turns 27. The Pirates second round pick out of Arkansas in 2007 was a mainstay in the rotation for Hickory. In 24 games, Welker went 4-13 with a 5.51 ERA. In 116 innings, Welker surrendered 81 runs - 71 earned - on 142 hits and struck out 72. His 13 losses are the third most in a season for the club. Welker repeated Low-A at West Virginia for two more seasons before putting things together in the bullpen. He progressed to AAA- Indianapolis in 2012 and is mentioned as a possible bullpen piece for the Pirates in 2013.

TRANSACTION:
The rights for Cliff Springston's ('09, P) 2013 contract was traded from Amarillo (American Association/ Independent) to Ft. Worth (United League/ Independent).

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS:
Brian Drent ('95, OF/ head coach Morningside College, IA) Game 1 (played at the Metrodome): Morningside (1-2) 3 Judson College 2. Game 2: Judson 8 Morningside (1-3) 3.
Chris Hernandez ('04, P/ pitching coach Cal State Los Angeles) Game 1: Dixie St College 14 CSLA (1-3) 10. Game 2: CSLA (2-3) 3 Dixie St College 0.
Juan Thomas ('93, 1B/ volunteer assistant coach Augustana College, SD) Game 1: Augustana (3-5) 16 Hawaii-Hilo 13. Game 2: Augustana (4-5) 8 Hawaii-Hilo 6.

Saturday, February 9
BIRTHDAYS:
Brad Holman ('09-'10, pitching coach) turns 45. The native of Wichita, KS spent most of his playing career bouncing around the minor leagues, with the exception of one season with the Kansas City Royals. He began his coaching career in 2002 with Wisconsin in the Seattle Mariners organization. Holman stayed with the Mariners system before coaching at AA- Altoona (Pittsburgh) in 2008. From there, he joined Hector Ortiz's staff in Hickory in 2009, where he coached for two seasons before moving up to High A- Myrtle Beach the past two seasons. Holman was recently promoted to AAA- Round Rock to start the 2013 season.

Arlett Mavare ('12, P) turns 23. Signed as a international free agent in 2009, the fireballer from Barquisimeto, Venezuela joined Hickory last season and became a steady contributor out of the bullpen. Mavare went 5-5 with a 3.57 ERA in 40 games. He struck out 102 batters and walked 27 in 80.2 innings. His strikeouts-per-9 innings ratio of 11.22 is the 8th best in team history for a season (50 innings minimum), and 7th best overall. Mavare received a late season callup to AAA- Round Rock, but did not pitch for the Express.

Elvis Pena ('98, P) turns 35. Drafted by the White Sox in the 25th round in 1996 out of Miami Lakes High School (FL), Pena's tenure with Hickory was a short affair. Pitching in only three games out of the bullpen, Pena allowed six runs, four earned, on eight hits, walked four and struck out two in 3.1 innings of work. He pitched briefly with the White Sox Rookie League team in Arizona before his release.

Scott Vollmer ('94 C) turns 42. He was selected in the 17th round by the White Sox in 1993 out of Pepperdine Univ. (CA), where he was named to the All- College World Series team after his team won the NCAA National Title in 1992. Vollmer was a workhorse behind the plate for the Crawdads in 1994, catching in 95 games, third most in team history for a season. As a hitter, Vollmer hit .274 in 110 games, with 24 doubles, four triples, seven homers and 81 RBI in helping to lead the team to its first playoff appearance. He played at AA- Birmingham the next two seasons before his release from the White Sox. Vollmer is currently as assistant coach at La Sierra High School in California.

TRANSACTIONS:
Jon Garland ('98, P) signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners.
Todd Redmond ('06, P) was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles and placed on its 40-man roster.

COLLEGE RESULTS:
Brian Drent ('95, OF/ head coach Morningside College, IA) Game 1: Judson 3 Morningside (0-1) 2. Game 2: Judson 10 Morningside (0-2) 2.
Pete Pryor ('96, 1B/ assistant coach Sacramento City College) Game 1: Chabot College 3 SCC (1-3) 0. Game 2: SCC (2-3) 12 Chabot 1.
Juan Thomas ('93, 1B/ volunteer assistant coach Augustana College, SD) Game 1: Augustana (2-4) 4 Hawaii-Hilo 3. Game 2: Hawaii-Hilo 10 Augustana (2-5) 1.

Friday, February 8
BIRTHDAY:
Dionis Rodriguez ('07-'08, P) turns 27. The native of Jicome, D.R. appeared in five games in each of his two seasons with Hickory. Overall, Rodriguez went 1-2 with a 5.91 ERA, with his lone win coming in 2008. In 35 innings, he struck out 19, walked 18, and allowed 24 runs on 41 hits. He was injured while with Hickory in 2008 and was released after the season by Pittsburgh.

CARIBBEAN WORLD SERIES:
Yefry Castillo ('10-'11, UT) made an appearance in the field for the Dominican Republic during their 4-3 loss in the championship game of the series.

Thursday, February 7
BIRTHDAY:
Humberto Cota ('99, C) turns 34. The native of San Luis Rio Colorado in Mexico, Cota was acquired in a trade by the Pirates from Tampa Bay in July of 1999. He came to the Pirates with catcher Joe Oliver for OF Jose Guillen and P Jeff Sparks. Cota was the starting catcher most of his time in Hickory, playing in 37 games overall. He hit .271 with 11 doubles, two triples, two homers and 20 RBI. He worked quickly up the Pirates chain before he debuted with Pittsburgh on 9/9/01. He split time with the Pirates and their AAA clubs at Nashville and Indianapolis through 2007. Cota played one season with AAA- Colorado Springs (Colorado) in 2008, then spent the past four seasons with Monterrey in the Mexican League. The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Cota to a minor league contract during the off-season.

CARIBBEAN WORLD SERIES:
Carlos Pimentel ('09, P) gave up an unearned run on two hits and a walk over four innings and struck out four to help lead the Dominican Republic (5-1) to the championship round with a 4-2 win over Venezuela (2-4). Jose Castillo ('00, SS) went 0-for-4 for the Venezuelans, which were eliminated.

Carlos Rivera ('99, 1B) went 0-for-2 with a walk for Puerto Rico (2-4) as the team was eliminated by Mexico (3-3) after a 10-0 rout.

Wednesday, February 6
CARIBBEAN WORLD SERIES:
Carlos Rivera ('99, 1B) walked in four plate appearances during Puerto Rico's 4-1 win over Venezuela. Jose Castillo ('00, SS) also walked during an 0-for-3 night for the Venezuelans. Both teams are 2-3 heading into the final day of round-robin competition.

COLLEGE RESULTS:
Pete Pryor ('96, 1B/ assistant coach Sacramento City College) Chabot College 9 SCC (1-2) 8.

Tuesday, February 5
BIRTHDAYS:
Gary Amato ('08, P) turns 27. Selected in the 27th round 2007 by the Pirates out of Penn State, Amato made only one appearance as a member of the Crawdads. It came during a loss at Greensboro when Amato allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits and a walk over two innings. He took the loss and was returned to the Pirates extended spring training camp the next day. Amato pitched with the Gulf Coast League Pirates and short-season State College in 2008. In his final pro season in 2009, he split time with the Pirates Low-A club at West Virginia and at Vermont (SS-A Washington).

Mark Hamburger ('09, P) turns 26. He came to the Rangers from Minnesota in 2008 that sent Eddie Guardado to the Twins. With the Crawdads, the natve of Arden Hills, MN went 2-9 with a save and a 4.75 ERA in 41 relief appearances. In 66.1 innings, Hamburger allowed 49 runs, 35 of them earned, on 79 hits and 25 walks while he struck out 55. He hit his stride out of the bullpen the next two seasons and worked his way up to the Texas Rangers by August 2011. Last season, Hamburger split time between AAA clubs at Round Rock (Texas), Tucson (San Diego) and Oklahoma City (Houston).

Javier Martinez ('99, P) turns 37. The native of Bayamon, PR was purchased by the Pirates from Oakland in the 1997 season and he debuted in the majors with Pittsburgh that next season. He came to Hickory in 1999 as part of an injury rehab assignment. In his six games out of the bullpen, Martinez struck out 13 in 7.2 innings. He allowed six runs, three earned, on six hits and six walks. Let go by the Pirates, Martinez bounced around the Cincinnati Reds system for three seasons, last pitching at AA- Chattanooga in 2002. His last action with an affiliated league came at Ottawa (AAA- Baltimore) in 2004 before he ended his career with Jackson in the independent Central League in 2005.

TRANSACTIONS:
Matt Nevarez ('09, P) was added to the Tampa Bay Rays major league spring training camp roster.
Dallas Williams ('97, hitting coach) was named the hitting coach for the EDA Rhinos in Taiwan.

CARIBBEAN WORLD SERIES:
Carlos Rivera ('99, 1B) went 3-for-5 and scored a run to help Puerto Rico (1-3) stay alive in the Caribbean World Series chase as they defeated the Dominican Republic (3-1) 6-4 in ten innings. Carlos Pimentel ('09, P) appeared in the game for the Dominicans out of the bullpen. He walked two and gave up a hit, but struck out one during a scoreless 1.1 innings of relief.

Jose Castillo ('00, SS) had two of the seven hits by Venezuela (2-2) as they were blanked by Mexico (2-2) 2-0.

COLLEGE RESULTS:
Chris Hernandez ('04, P/ pitching coach Cal State Los Angeles) Cal-State LA (1-2) 16 Cal Baptist 11.
Juan Thomas ('93, 1B/ volunteer assistant coach Augustana College, SD) Hawaii-Pacific 13 Augustana (1-4) 7.