Battle Creek, Mich.- The Bombers have signed three from University of Mississippi. Colby Bortles, Henri Lartigue and Jacob Waguespack from Ole Miss will be joining the Bombers during the 2014 season.
Colby Bortles, a freshman, is a 6’5” first baseman from Oviedo, FL. He had a career .400 batting average with 15 homeruns at Oviedo High School where he earned first team All-State honors. Colby was the representative for the state of Florida, to participate in the High School Home Run Derby International Power Showcase. He has played in 20 of the 36 games for the #16 Rebels this spring, getting action at first base, third base and as a DH. Colby’s older brother Blake is the starting quarterback at the University of Central Florida and is projected to be a first round pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday.
Henri Lartigue, a Southhaven, MS native, is a freshman switch-hitting Catcher. Henri helped lead Southhaven High School to a State Championship in 2013. He was named a second team All-State selection in both 2012 and 2013. As a junior and senior in High School, he was named a Best of the Preps All-Metro selection. He also graduated as Salutatorian and was a member of the National Honor Society. Henri has played in 9 games this spring.
#16 Ole Miss with the #8 Recruiting class in 2014 not only sends two of their top Freshmen, but also 2012 37th round Pittsburgh Pirates Draft selection, Jacob Waguespack. Jacob is a 6’6” RHP from Prairie, LA. In 2012 at Dutchtown High School, Jacob was named All-State, posting an 8-2 record with a 0.37 ERA through 13 appearances. Across 53.1 innings, Jacob had 87 strikeouts and two saves. In 2013 at Ole Miss, he made six appearances; four in relief and two starts posting a 0-1 record with a 3.46 ERA. In 2014, Jacob has started in two games and has one relief appearance with opponents hitting just .226 against him.
“I feel we have added 2 of the finest freshman in the country, along with an SEC experienced RHP,” Bombers Head Coach Dan Trivett said, “ I couldn’t be happier with the addition of these 3 fine young men and our relationship with the Coaching Staff at Ole Miss.”
You can catch this Ole Miss trio along with the rest of the Bombers at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek. Opening day for the Bombers is Thursday, May 29th at 7:05pm against the newly formed Kalamazoo Growlers.
# # #
The Battle Creek Bombers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.battlecreekbombers.com