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| Eleven Beavers to Play Summer Ball |
Jan. 14, 2004
BEMIDJI, Minn. - Bemidji State University head baseball coach
Chris Brown announced today that eleven BSU players will
participate in high-level competition this summer.
Junior P Russell Berner (Eagan, Minn.), senior C Chris
Dvorak (St. Cloud, Minn.), freshman OF Joe Ferguson
(Robbins, Calif.), senior P/3B Tyler Norland (Fertile,
Minn.), junior OF/P Jared Podraza (Carter Lake, Iowa),
and junior C Tim Voigt (Cold Spring, Minn.) will all
represent USA Athletes International at the Robur ‘58 Series,
a tournament hosted by the city of Apeldoorn, Netherlands in
early July.
The Lenoir (N.C.) Oilers of the Southern Collegiate Baseball
League bolstered their roster with the recent signing of three
Beavers. Sophomore IF John Grindeland (Moorhead, Minn.),
sophomore 3B/C Tony Klaers (Elk River, Minn.), and junior
SS Matt Middendorf (Sauk Centre, Minn.) will all sport
Oilers uniforms in the summer.
Freshman C Brian Weller (Palmer, Alaska) will return
for his third season with the Mat-Su Miners of the Alaska Baseball
League, while junior 2B Dan Marshall, Jr. (Amherstburg,
Ontario) has committed to play for the Melville Millionaires
of Canada’s Western Major Baseball League.
“This is a very big step in the right direction for the
program,” said Brown, who will serve as head coach for
the Netherlands-bound team. “This will get these guys some
serious exposure at not only the national level, but the international
level as well.”
The trio heading to Lenoir will follow in the footsteps of former
Beaver Brad Johnson and senior C/1B Shaun Ross
(Bemidji, Minn.). Both played key roles last summer for the
Oilers, who finished with an overall record of 32-17. Ross led
the Oilers in at-bats (143), runs scored (28), hits (47), doubles
(9), triples (3), and runs batted in (35), while fanning six
of nine batters faced in his only pitching appearance of the
year.
The Beavers kick off their season with a road trip to Oklahoma
and Missouri in early March. Their home opener is on April 6
against the University of North Dakota. |
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