18/19U Ottawa Knights Baseball Program

2010 Season Preview

The 19U Ottawa Knights are in transition as the squad heads into the 2010 summer season.

This year’s 15-member team melds nine returnees with six grads from the Knights’16U program. Both teams had great success in 2009, and manager Rick Frobel is enthusiastic about this year’s squad.

“Six of our nine returnees are coming home to rejoin the Knights for the summer from their U.S. school teams,” said Frobel, “and we’ve got six young up-and-comers trying to push them and compete for their jobs.”

The elder Knights won two U.S. tournaments last season. The 16U squad reached the semifinals of the prestigious Bowie (Md.) Shootout and won their Quebec AAA league playoff championship.

The 19U Knights will play a partial, 22-game schedule in the Quebec AAA league, while competing at five tournaments – four in the United States and one in Montreal..

Last year’s Knights were a hitting powerhouse, and with the heart of the batting order returning, that is unlikely to change. The No. 3 through No. 6 hitters are all back – shortstop Steve Renaud, leftfielder Evan Hammond, infielder Wes Hoppner and DH-pitcher Wil McIntyre.

“Hitting has been a real strength for this team,” said Frobel. “Those guys in the middle of our order deliver both power and average. We know some of the guys moving up are also solid hitters, so we’ll take the first few weeks to get a good look at them, too.”

Defensively, Renaud anchors the infield at shortstop, returnee Charlie Crabb and newcomer Rizz Mendoza are penciled in at second, and Hoppner with 16U grads Steve Milks, Jake Marko and Pat Derouin on the corners.

The outfield is stacked with both veteran and rookie talent. Hammond, Mike Byrne and Ryan Morrissette all return, while Dillon James and Jamie Wilcox move up to compete for playing time.

Behind the plate, Justin Carpenter will be the starter, with several options as backups including Marko..

On the mound, the Knights staff is led by Casey Floyd and Crabb. Both established themselves as workhorses last season and the two 18-year-olds will anchor the staff, which also includes McIntyre, Derouin, Carpenter and James.

Frobel heads up a five-member coaching staff of long-time local university and Knights coach Dave Dunn, Steve Derouin, pitching coach John Crabb and Knights grad Jordan Kritsch.

“One of our big goals as an organization has been to help get our talented players exposure at U.S. schools,” said Frobel. “We had great success getting six boys into college programs after last season, and we hope to do the same for some of the newcomers this summer.”

The Knights kick off their regular season at home to Gatineau on Tuesday, May 18 at 5:30 p.m. at Ottawa Stadium. The team’s first tournament is at Amherst, N.Y. on the weekend of June 20.