Springfield Sliders Baseball Hire Danny Cox as Field Manager

The Springfield Sliders announced that former St. Louis Cardinal Pitcher Danny Cox will be the Sliders Field Manager for the 2011 summer season.

Cox takes over for Curt Ford who managed the Sliders last season and was offered a bench coach position but Curt declined.

Cox served as the Sliders pitching coach in 2009 under manager Jack Clark for the Sliders first season in the Prospect League.  Cox spent 11 seasons in the Majors and was with the Cardinals from 1993-1998.

Corey Kimes Named to Baseball America Top Prospect List

University of Illinois left handed pitcher Corey Kimes was named to Baseball America's list of top ten Prospect in the Prospect League.

Kimes, a junior, was named the #9 prospect by going 5-1 with a 2.64 era for the Springfield Sliders this summer.

 

Second Half Standings in the Prospect League

Final standings in the Prospect League for the second half - only the divisions with teams from Illinois are listed..

Western Division
Springfield Sliders 19-10
DeKalb County Liners 17-10
Quincy Gems 13-12
Hannibal Caveman 13-13
DuPage Dragons 8-20

Central Division
Nashville Outlaws 16-10
Danville Dans 17-12
Terre Haute Rex 15-11
Richmond River Rats 16-13
Dubois County Bombers 11-17

Prospect League Update - Illinois Summer Collegiate Baseball Teams

The Danville Dans and Springfield Sliders both captured first half division titles in the 2010 Prospect leage standings.

Danville captured the Central Division first half title by one game over the Richmond River Rats with a 15-12 record.

Springfield won the first half in the Western Division going 16-9 which was 1 and a half games ahead of Quincy.

First half records of Illinois teams in the Prospect Leage:

Springfield Sliders 16-9
Quincy Gems 16-12
Danville Dans 15-12
DeKalb County Liners 10-15
Dupage Dragons 9-14

The second half of the Prospect league started July 9th.

 

Springfield Sldiers Baseball Release 2010 Summer Schedule

The Sliders kick off their 2010 season when they travel to face the Terre Haute Rex in Indiana. The home opener is on June 5th against the Danville Dans at Robin Roberts Stadium. Click the link here 2010 Slider Schedule for the full schedule. 

Springfield Sliders

Springfield Sliders: "Sliders Sign Pair of Pac-10 Freshman"

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS – The Sliders continue to bolster their roster for the

2010 season. The two newest players to sign contracts are Paul
Clingan and Kendall Mayer, both who are freshman at Washington State
University.

Clingan (Lynnwood, Wash./Mountlake Terrace HS), is a 6-foot 193lb
right-handed hitting catcher. In his senior year at Mountlake
Terrace, Paul threw out an impressive 86% of runners while leading the
Hawks to a district title.

Kendall Mayer (Salt Lake City, Utah/Cottonwood HS) is a right-handed
pitcher who was named to the Second-Team All-State and helped
Cottonwood to a 2008 Class 4A Utah State Championship.
Washington State finished 32-25 overall (19-8 Pac-10) and finished
second in the Pac-10 to Arizona State by only two games. The Cougars
season ended with a loss to Oklahoma in the NCAA Division I Baseball
Norman Regional. At the time they were ranked 24th overall in the
country and had the 3rd seed in the regional.

The Sliders finished 22-32 last summer and look forward to an exciting
2010 of summer baseball. Stay tuned to the Sliders website for more
updates on next seasons roster.

The Springfield Sliders are a member of the Prospect League, a wood
bat summer league featuring players from across the country. For
ticket information contact the Sliders office at 217-679-3511 or visit
the website at www.springfieldsliders.com.

Blazer Baseball Inks Dillon Napoleon As Early Period Opens - UAB OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Blazer Baseball Inks Dillon Napoleon As Early Period Opens - UAB OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE: "Blazer Baseball Inks Dillon Napoleon As Early Period Opens
Right-handed pitcher comes to UAB from Heartland (Ill.) Community College"

Nov. 11, 2009


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Dillon Napoleon, a right-handed pitcher from Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois., has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend UAB and compete for the Blazer baseball program.

Napoleon completed his freshman season at Heartland this past spring, posting a 7-1 record on the mound with a 2.62 ERA. He struck out 64 batters and walked 17 in 44 2/3 innings on his way to ranking third in the NJCAA in strikeouts per inning. Napoleon held opponents to a .229 batting average over 10 appearances and nine starts as he helped the Hawks to a 42-9 record.

Napoleon will play his sophomore season at Heartland in the spring of 2010 before enrolling at UAB for the 2010-11 academic year.

"Going into this recruiting season, we knew we could lose up to nine pitchers off the current roster, so pitching was our number one need," UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. "Dillon Napoleon is exactly what we were looking for, and we are thrilled to announce him as our first signee of this recruiting class."

This past summer, Napoleon pitched for the Springfield Sliders of the Prospect League, one of the top collegiate summer leagues in the country. He finished the season 3-2 with a 4.14 ERA and struck out 46 batters in 37 innings.

Before going to Heartland, Napoleon played his high school baseball for his father Mike at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois., where he also played quarterback and wide receiver on the football team. As a pitcher and shortstop, he earned all-state, all-conference and team MVP honors during his senior year in 2008. He was also named the MVP of his American Legion team in the summer of 2008.

"Dillon is a power pitcher with electric stuff and can dominate a game on the mound," Shoop said. "He is also a tough, competitive young man who will handle well the pressures of pitching in Conference USA each weekend. Lastly, he is a great athlete who is very mature mentally, having played for his dad in high school and coach Nate Metzger in junior college. We believe he is a great addition to our weekend rotation for the 2011 season."

The son of Mike and Melanie Napoleon, Dillon Napoleon has one brother, Dusty, who plays in the Oakland Athletics organization.

Wednesday marked the start of the early signing period for baseball. The early period continues through Nov. 18.

Sliders Sign Two U of I Players

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Sliders management continues to pick out some of the best prospects from the Big Ten Conference. In past weeks, the Sliders have signed three Purdue Boilermakers. Two players from the University of Illinois have now been added to the Sliders roster.

Left-handed pitcher Corey Kimes and outfielder Davis Hendrickson will be coming to Springfield to play for the Sliders in 2010.

Kimes is 6-foot-4 245 pounds from Ottawa, Illinois. Last season for the llini, Kimes finished with a 2-1 record, appearing in 17 games, all in relief. He struck out 15 batters in just over 22 innings of work.

Hendrickson is going into his sophomore season at Illinois. He is a 6-foot-1 180 pound left-handed hitter and thrower from Macomb, Illinois. The Illinois High School Baseball Coaches’ Association named Davis to the 2009 All-State team as a senior.

Corey and Davis aren’t the first players from U of I to play for the Sliders. Last season, infielder Josh Parr (Illinois Valley Central/Chillicothe, Ill.) was selected to the 2009 Prospect League All-Star team after his sophomore season at Illinois. He finished with a .233 average with 7 doubles and 14 RBI for the Sliders.

The Sliders finished 22-32 last summer and look forward to an exciting 2010 of summer baseball. Stay tuned to the Sliders website for more updates on next seasons roster.

The Springfield Sliders are a member of the Prospect League, a wood bat summer collegiate baseball league featuring players from across the country. For ticket information contact the Sliders office at 217-679-3511 or visit the website at www.springfieldsliders.com.