ROMAK DOUBLES IN ROYALS WIN OVER PADRES

Former London Badger, Jamie Romak doubled off of Jose De Paula in the Royals 7-4 win over the San Diego Padres in Surprise, Arizona this afternoon.

Former Badger Kjeldgaard Featured In Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Former London Badger, Brock Kjeldgaard was featured in an article by Mikwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporter Tom Haudricourt in Saturday's paper.

KJELDGAARD ARTICLE

Fitzsimmons Has Three Saves For Golden Griffins

Former London Badger Jon Fitzsimmons has posted a save in each of his three pitching appearances for the Canisius College Golden Griffins this Spring.

Early Spring Results From Texarkana

A quick look at stats of the Texarkana C.C. Bulldogs after 11 games this Spring reveal that two former London Badgers are doing quite well.

* Byron Reichstein has appeared in nine games posting a .391 batting average with 5 RBI, 3 doubles, 1 triple and 1 home run.

* Matt Hexter has 3 RBI and a .278 batting average in six games.

TAYLOR CARR FINDS NEW HOME AT POST UNIVERSITY

Dan Haugh, Badger Media Liaison

It might only be a 10-hour car ride, but Taylor Carr has headed south after three consecutive trips to the Baseball Canada Midget Championships with his London Badger teammates where they captured two Gold medals and a Bronze medal.
Taylor accepted a scholarship last summer at  Post University in Waterbury Connecticut where he began studies in September. Carr is one of three Canadians on the baseball roster of Division II Post University Eagles. Pitching coach, Forrest Irwin is also Canadian. Post University is a Division II school located in Waterbury, Connecticut, 20 minutes from New Haven where Yale is located and 10 minutes from Hartford where the University of Connecticut is based.
Carr will remain in the states for the summer of 2012 when he will be a member of the Winchester Royals of the Valley Baseball League in Virginia. The Royals finished atop the North Division standings in the 12-team Valley Baseball League in 2011 with a 31-18 record.
Post University’s head baseball coach AJ McNamara took some time to comment on how Taylor ended up at Post, and he also spoke a bit about Canadian baseball players in general and what they bring with them when they come to the United States to play baseball. “Actually, my Associate Head Coach Ray Ricker found Taylor and did an outstanding job of recruiting him and getting him here to Post. We knew that Taylor had several good offers from other schools, but Coach Ricker continued to stay in contact with him throughout the recruiting process and showed him that Post University was a great opportunity for him. We liked Taylor so much we offered him a scholarship, so things worked out great. Coach Ricker deserves all the credit there,” said McNamara who went on to talk about Canadian baseball players, “I firmly feel that Canadian baseball has done an outstanding job of preparing its players both mentally and physically for the rigors of high school and college baseball. If you look at the competitive high school summer tournaments now, many of those competitions are being won by Canadian teams. Not only are they talented ballplayers, but they also are very mature and savvy when they come to us.  Those are big attributes to possess while trying to be academically and athletically successful.”
Speaking of academic challenges and the necessary adjustments that he had to make moving away from home for college and to further his baseball career Taylor had this to say, “The first two or three weeks at Post University was the most stressful time in respect to baseball, because I was being judged by my coaches as well as my teammates on whether or not I was going to be a good fit to the team. This process made the start of my career at Post very stressful.  This will continue throughout my term at Post, so it will always be an incentive for me to do my best. “
“The Badgers have prepared me for the intense level of baseball that universities play at. Without the Badgers I wouldn’t be where I am now both physically and mentally.
I think playing for an organization like the Badgers has helped me to get my name out across the border to schools in the United States. Mike Lumley’s status with Baseball Canada has helped me tremendously because many coaches in the USA know who you are talking about whenever you drop the name Mike Lumley. The baseball experience with the Badger organization has only been positive.”
Taylor spoke about Post University and why it was his choice to continue his education and pursue his baseball career, “The biggest thing that made me decide to accept a scholarship at Post University is the fact that the campus is fairly small, so I knew that I would be known around campus and the teachers would know me by name and they wouldn’t just see me as a number.”
Taylor’s mother Kelly talked about his time with the Badgers and what it is like to see her son move away from home, “Both his father and I are extremely proud of Taylor. The Badger program was a very positive environment for Taylor. He has spent a lot of time with those boys, the coaches and Mike Lumley. We are lucky to have such a high level of baseball in this area. Taylor began his baseball love in St. Thomas with the Cardinals. The next step was the Badgers.  It’s not just a great group of young men that come out of the Badger organization, but there are relationships that are made between players, coaches and parents that will last a long time. It truly takes a village to raise a kid and the Badgers organization was and is a good village’.” 
Kelly told a story about one of their first experiences in Waterbury that illustrates the type of community it is, “When we went to set Taylor up for a US bank account at the TD bank in Naugatuck, Connecticut, the manager and tellers were so friendly that by the time we left, the manager had invited Taylor for dinner if he was ever feeling homesick.  It made it easier knowing that I was leaving him in a safe community. The Police station is right across from his apartment complex where he lives with another baseball player Dean White.”
It might be a while before Taylor Carr is back in Canada playing baseball, but it appears that he has a bright future ahead of him.
Coach McNamara spoke about what he has seen of Taylor so far in his brief time at Post, “Right now, Taylor is doing an outstanding job. He's very poised and confident in what he is doing. He has a high baseball IQ and his maturity level is much higher than others of the same age. On the field, he's done a tremendous job at becoming a better defensive infielder and he's doing a very good job at adjusting to wood bat and playing at the Division II level. There's always more growth and development to be made, but right now I see Taylor as someone who is going contribute a lot in his first season and I think he will only continue to progress and shine in future years.” 

MATT SMITH ACCEPTS SCHOLARSHIP AT ROANE STATE C.C.

Dan Haugh, Badger Media Liaison

London Badger left-handed pitcher Matt Smith has accepted a baseball scholarship from Roane State Community College in Harriman, Tennessee, where he will be headed in September to continue his education and further his baseball career.

Smith was a member of the London Badger Midget team that won a Gold Medal at the 2011 Baseball Canada Midget Championships in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Head baseball coach at Roane Sate David Lane says that the coaching staff at Roane State is very excited to have Matt as a new member of their team, "We have been fortunate to have some quality players from Canada. Canadian players work hard and have a great understanding of the game. When we began working on our pitching staff for next year we checked our contacts to find the best personnel we could find. One of our catchers, former Badger Brady Stafford suggested that we take a look at Matt Smith to fill our left-handed pitching needs. Matt and his family were able to visit Roane State and he was able to workout with the team. We were very impressed with his command and pitch quality."

Raider pitching coach Zach Sterner who pitched in the Philadelphia Phillies organization commented on Matt and what he sees for the future, "I think he has more in his tank when we tweak some things, but overall I like him. When Matt reports in August we will be working to make him a weekend starter for us. The Fall season is the time when we work to determine if a pitcher is a conference starter, reliever or a weekday guy. We only go after the best so the competition is constant. That's what makes you better, and we are sure that Matt will compete well." 

Matt says that he wants to focus on training and commitment this summer, "I also feel I need to work on my command of the strike zone. I have been working on it indoors, but I still need work. That is what I want to do this summer."

Matt and his family visited several U.S. schools before settling on Roane State and he commented on what he likes about the school he chose, "I feel Roane State is a good fit for me athletically because it fits right into what I want to do as a baseball player, and that is a starting position in the pitching roster. I love to pitch and start games, and that's just what I can do down there. Academically the school is just like all the other Junior Colleges I visited."

Matt attends Sir Frederick Banting S.S. in London, and is the son of Cam and Janice Smith. Matt's older brother Aidan was a member of the 2009 Badger Midget team that won Gold in Fredericton.