RiverHawks Baseball Announces 2012 Coaching Staff

The Rockford RiverHawks Independent baseball club announced their coaching for the 2012 season. 

RiverHawks Manager Rich Austin

Returning as manager is Richard Austin, who starts his second season as RiverHawks manager after playing for the the Rockford from 2002-2004 and again in 2010.  Rockford finished last season with 37-59 record.

Rockford will also bring back both assistant coaches from last season, hitting coach Patrick O'Sullivan and pitching coach Scott Roehl.  All three coaches finished their playing careers with the RiverHawks in 2010.

The RiverHawks will add an additional coach this season Justin Small.  Small is an assistant coach for Rockford Boylan HS.

Rockford is looking to improve on their last place finish along with being last in the league in pitching in 2011.

RiverHawks Baseball Pick up Options on Nine Pitchers for 2012

The Rockford RiverHawks announced they have picked up the options on nine picthers for the 2012 season. 

Left handers include Alex Symanski, Kyle Kriech and Theron Minium.

The righties are Joe Scumaci, Adam Osteen, Brad Allen, Corey Frerichs, Nick Gaudi and Joey Gradney.

Alex Symanski is returns as last year's ace for the RiverHawks going 5-4 with a 4.09 ERA.

Boomers Baseball Signs Outfielder John Wagle

The Schaumburg Boomers signed their first native Illinois player by adding outfielder John Wagle from Rock Island Illinois.

Wagle was also a Division III baseball player at Augustana College in Rock Island Ilinois.  After Augustana Wagle hooked up with the San Angelo Colts in 2010, hitting .256 in 21 games before being traded to the Rockford RiverHawks.  In 2011 Wagle played 15 games for the Fargo-Moorehead RedHawks where John hit .196 and 20 with the Joliet Slammers as a reserve infielder/outfielder where he ended the season with a .161 batting average. 

RiverHawks Baseball Trades Cooper To Gary RailCats

The Rockford RiverHawks announced the trade of infielder David Cooper to the Gary SouthShore RailCats left-handed pitcher Jeremy Hauer.


Hauer was 2-1 with a 3.65 ERA in 43 appearances last year for Gary.  Hauer is from Sherrard Illinois and went to Rock Island Alleman High School.  Hauer has spent three seasons in independent ball since 2009 with a 1-5 record and a 5.67 ERA.

Rockford RiverHawks Host Free Youth Baseball Clinic in Loves Park Illinois

The Rockford RiverHawks will host a free youth baseball clinic on Sunday November 6th at Wallbangers Academy in Loves Park Illinois. 

This free clinic will focus on hitting, and is one of a series of free clinics scheduled through May, 2012. 

Clinics are broken down by age groups where ages 7-12 go from noon to 1PM and ages 13 and older go from 1-2PM.

For more information please call the RiverHawks at 815-885-BALL.

Rockford RiverHawks Baseball to Hold Open Tryout May 4th

The Rockford RiverHawks will hold an open tryout on Wednesday May 4th 2011 at 9:00 am in Loves Park Illinois.  The cost of the tryout is $50.00 and the tryouts will be held at Road Ranger Stadium in Loves Park.

Registration is one hour before the tryout start time.

RiverHawks Baseball Add Patrick O'Sullivan and Scott Roehl as Coaches

Two former players, Patrick O'Sullivan and Scott Roehl, are back with the RiverHawks, now as coaches. 

Patrick O'Sullivan was 13th on the active minor-league home run list retired after 12 seasons playing professional baseball to become Rockford's hitting coach for the 2011 season.  In his final season Patrick hit 13 homers, two shy of the RiverHawks record.

Scott Roehl accepted the RiverHawks pitching coach position and also announced his retirement as a player.  Roehl saved 18 games which is a team record for the RiverHawks.  Roehl closed out his playing career with a 28-27 record and 56 saves.

Rockford RiverHawks Move Back into the Frontier League for 2011

Rockford's independent professional baseball team announced on Monday that it will play in the Frontier League for the 2011 season.  In addition the team also announced that the RiverHawks are also the Stateline's newest team.  Dr. Chris Hanners, a longtime minor-league owner, heads a group that has acquired the lease at Road Ranger Stadium and will operate a Frontier League Franchise, also named the RiverHawks.

The RiverHawks will take over the Frontier League schedule of the Kalamazoo Kings who ceased operations for the 2011 season.  Kalamazoo players have also been assigned to the RiverHawks for the 2011 season.

Rockford RiverHawks Baseball Trade Paul Fagan

The Rockford RiverHawks announced yesterday the trade of former Frontier League Pitcher of the Year Paul Fagan to the Windy City ThunderBolts for two-time All-Star Jake McMurran.

McMurran was picked up by the ThunderBolts from the Southern Illinois Miners Baseball Club in a transaction in January 2011.  McMurran went 5-1 last season with a 1.89 ERA and 3 saves with the Miners. 

Fagan, who has never pitched with Rockford, won the 2009 Player of the Year award with Lake Erie and spent last season with three different independent teams.

Joliet JackHammers, Lake County Fielders, Schaumburg Flyers and Rockford RiverHawks Join Newly Formed North American League

The Northern League, Golden Baseball League and the United League announced they have joined forces to create a new professional baseball league to be known as the North American League. 

The league will cover many of the major markets in the U.S. and Canada and expand in 2012.   The North American League will be second to Major League Baseball in terms of the number of teams and geographies.  The existing leagues will keep their names and their business activities and will now adhere to a consistant set of league rules and by-laws.  The league will have 16 - 20 teams in the U.S. and Canada in 2011.

Illinois teams from the Northern League who will be currently joining forces with the North American League are the Joliet JackHammers, Lake County Fielders, Rockford Riverhawks and the Schaumburg Flyers.

Rockford RiverHawks Add Jake Eigsti to Roster

The Rockford RiverHawks signed infielder Jake Eigsti on Tuesday.  Eigsti, who was drafted out of Indiana State in 2006, hit .235 overall last year while playing in the Mets organizaiton with Binghamton (AA), St. Lucie (A), Savannah (A) and Brooklyn (A). 

Chris Pfalzgraph Attempts Comeback with Rockford RiverHawks Baseball

32 year old Chris Pfalzgraph, who has pitched in one professional game in the last nine years, has been given the chance to continue his career by the Rockford Riverhawks.  

Pfalzgraf signed with the Rangers as an undrafted free agent out of Aurora University in 2000.

Chris, who has since become a father, has stayed active in amateur wood-bat leagues and went to spring training in 2005 with the Northern League’s Schaumburg Flyers. Although he didn’t make their roster, Pfalzgraf started a regular-season game last year for the Gary RailCats. He lasted four innings and gave up three runs on four hits against Schaumburg.


 

Rockford RiverHawk Bseball Holds Tryouts for Pitchers and Catchers

The Rockford RiverHawks will hold an open tryout for pitchers and catchers May 2nd and May 3rd 2010.  Registration is at 8:00 a.m. on May 2nd.  For more information contact the RiverHawks at 815-885-2255.

Rockford RiverHawks Sign Brad McDavid

Baseball in Illinois News

The Rockford RiverHawks added outfield depth on Wednesday with the signing of Brad McDavid.


McDavid, a former Southern University athlete, broke into professional baseball last year in the independent Continental League.

Rockford RiverHawk Baseball Acquires Robert Matlock

Baseball in Illinois News

The Rockford RiverHawks continue dealing this week as the RiverHawk baseball team announced on Thursday that it has acquired outfielder Robert Matlock from the Edinburg Roadrunners of the independent United League in exchange for two players to be named later.


Matlock is coming off the best season of his career. He hit a career-high .327 with no home runs and 33 RBI for Edinburg. Matlock struck out just 14 times in 297 at-bats.

In an additional move, the RiverHawks released infielder Boomer Berry. The team acquired him in a trade with Sioux Falls of the American Association last month.

RiverHawks Baseball Aquires Justin Knoff

Baseball in Illinois News

The Rockford RiverHawks have added another experienced, strike-throwing arm to the starting rotation.


The team announced on Tuesday that it has acquired right-hander Justin Knoff in exchange from the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League in exchange for cash.

Knoff spent most of last season with the Sussex Skyhawks. Knoff was 5-5 with a 3.24 earned-run average, the fourth lowest in the league, in 14 starts. When the Skyhawks fell out of the Can-Am race late in the season, they dealt him to Lincoln of the American Association. He was 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA in five appearances. Knoff combined to strike out 60 and walk 39 in 109 composite innings. Sussex reacquired him in another trade following the season.


Cincinnati drafted Knoff out of Siena in the 30th round in 2002 and he spent three years in their organization. St. Louis acquired him in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft at the 2004 winter meetings and he spent most of the 2005 season with two of the Cardinals’ affiliates.

The eight-year veteran has a career record of 40-24 and a 3.84 ERA. He’s twice been in his league’s top five in wins and twice among the top five in ERA. Knoff has never walked 40 in a season. The 28-year-old has LS-5 status in the Northern League.

Rockford Riverhawks Baseball Signs Left hander Roger Lincoln

Baseball in Illinois News

The latest control specialist signed by the team is left-hander Roger Lincoln. The RiverHawks announced the signing of the 29-year-old former Cleveland farmhand on Thursday. Lincoln has a career 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has surrendered a walk roughly every four innings over his six-year professional career.



Lincoln has never walked more than 28 in a season. Last year, Lincoln was 6-7 with a career-high 5.14 earned-run average for the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, but he allowed just 22 walks and struck out 56 over 98 innings.


Lincoln, a former Stetson University pitcher, was the Indians’ 34th-round pick in the 2003 draft. He spent two years with their short-season Class A Mahoning Valley affiliate in the New York-Penn League and also spent time with Boston’s low A affiliate at Greeneville in the Southern Atlantic League. Lincoln missed the 2007 season because of Tommy John surgery.

Lincoln has a career record of 27-20 and a 3.87 ERA. He has struck out 327 and walked 103 over 414 1/3 innings.

Kyle Wright and Brett Durand Return to Riverhawks Baseball

From Baseball in Illinois News Sources

Rockford’s only professional baseball team announced Wednesday that it has re-signed pitchers Kyle Wright and Brett Durand (above). Each won 10 games last season, the first time in team history that the RiverHawks have had two pitchers crack double digits. The pair accounted for nearly half the team’s victories last season.

Wright, a Frontier League all-star, was 10-6 with a 2.24 earned-run average. Wright became the first RiverHawk in six years to win the league’s ERA crown. Wright struck out 129, second in the league, and walked 41 in a league-high 144 2/3 innings. Wright pitched a league-leading seven complete games – a team record – and tossed two shutouts, tied for the league high.


Durand was 10-6 with a 3.81 ERA. He struck out 110 and walked 23 over 130 innings. In his last five appearances, Durand won three of four starts and picked up a five-out save in a rare relief appearance.

Each finished the year a victory short of Tanner Watson’s three-year-old RiverHawks wins record.

Rockford Riverhawks Sign Patrick O'Sullivan

From Baseball in Illinois News

The Rockford RiverHawks’ latest roster move has created a family reunion for a power-hitting veteran.


The RiverHawks announced Tuesday that they have picked up first baseman Patrick O’Sullivan from the Ft. Worth Cats of the independent American Association in exchange for a player to be named later. O’Sullivan was born in Oak Lawn and now makes his home in Marietta, Ga. His parents now reside in Rockford.

O’Sullivan, who will be 33 in March, has hit at least 20 home runs in five of his 11 professional seasons. Last year with the Cats, O’Sullivan hit .309 with 14 homers, the fourth-best total in the league, and 65 RBI.

Rockford RiverHawks Sign EX-Cub Randall Simon

From Baseball in Illinois News Sources

The Rockford RiverHawks will have big-league experience in the clubhouse this season.


The team announced Wednesday that it has signed eight-year major-league veteran Randall Simon to a contract. Simon, a first baseman, has played in the majors for six different teams, including the Chicago Cubs. Simon represented the Netherlands in both World Baseball Classics, 2006 and 2009.

2010 will be the 19th season of professional baseball for the 34-year-old Simon.


Simon signed out of Curacao, in the Netherlands Antilles, with the Atlanta Braves in 1992. Cubs fans probably best remember Simon as a mid-August acquisition in 2003, when Chicago reached the National League Championship Series. Simon hit .282 with six home runs and 21 RBI in 33 games after Pittsburgh traded him to the Cubs for outfielder Ray Sadler. He hit .333 in the postseason.