The start time for the exhibition scheduled for Tuesday June 9th against the ECBL’s Rome Thunderbolts has been changed to 5:00. The game will also be played as a 7 Inning Doubleheader. The Wings will open their NYCBL season at home Thursday night June 11th with a 7:30 first pitch against the Elmira Pioneers.
With just over a month left until opening day the full 2009 schedule has been posted on the schedule page. The Wings will open their season at home on June 11th against the Nitro’s of Allegany County. First pitch is at 7:30. Prior to opening day the Wings will play a home and home exhibition against the Elmira Pioneers. Come out the park for a sneak peek free matinee on Sunday June 7th as the Wings host the Pio’s, then come back for the home opener on Thursday June 11th!
The 2009 home schedule has been posted on the Schedule Page. The Wings will again compete for the divisional championship in the Western Division against rivals from Niagara Falls, Bolivar, Elmira, Webster, Brockport, Hornell and Allegany County. Also, for the third year in a row the NYCBL has decided to skip cross-divisional games. Each team will play 42 regular season games within their own division.
Until the season gets going, how about some “old school” news?
2007 Red Wing, Ashton Mowdy who was drafted in the 2008 Amateur Draft by the Houston Astros has been invited to Arizona with his parent club. The 22 year old righthanded Mowdy went 4-2 last season with the Tri-City Valley Cats of the New York Penn League with a 4.10 ERA in 41.2 IP, enroute to striking out 48.
Jeremy Kehrt has also been invited to Spring Training by his parent club, the Boston Red Sox. Kehrt
was a member of the 2006 and 2007 Red Wings and was drafted by the Sox in the same 2007 draft as Mowdy. Kehrt, a 23 year old right handed pitcher spent the majority of his rookie season in the Gulf Coast League working out of the Red Sox Training Facility in Ft. Myers. He finished the GCL season with a 3-2 record and a 2.84 ERA striking out 44 in 50.2 IP while only allowing 7 walks. He had cup of coffee with the Lowell Spinners during the season, and was called up to the Class A Greenville Drive to finish off the 2008 season.
Also a part of the”legendary” 2007 team was Kyle Bellamy. Bellamy a right handed sidewinding Junior at the “U” (University of Miami) cruised as a Red Wing, setting a NYCBL record with 16 saves and a 0.00 ERA in 19IP, he struck out 26 and walked 4 for the Wings in ‘07. He carried what he learned in Geneva over to Miami in ‘08 and as a set-up-man was named a 2008 second team All-American, and was also added to the Howser Trophy watch list. The Howser Trophy is the College Baseball equivelant of Football’s Heisman Trophy.
Don’t miss out this summer! You never know who will be coming through Geneva on their way to bigger things. Never been to a game? Be sure to mark your calendars with our 2009 home schedule fresh off the press! Come on out to McDonough Park this summer, one of the only places you take a family, get dinner, watch top level athletes and be GUARANTEED to to talk to and get autographs from the players all for less than a couple Hamilton’s. It’s almost baseball season…almost!