St. Cloud, MN – The St. Cloud Rox have announced today that they have signed four pitchers at the Division I level to their 2014 roster this week. The list includes Jarrett Brown (University of Georgia), Chad Hockin (Cal State Fullerton), Ben Lumsden (Mercer University) and Tyler Peitzmeier (Cal State Fullerton).
Brown, a 6-foot-2, 188 lbs. left-handed pitcher is set to join the Rox following his junior season at the University of Georgia after being drafted in the 23rd round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox. Through 51 games with the Bulldogs, Brown has made 16 appearances on the mound, firing 24 innings and allowing 29 hits and 17 earned runs while striking out nine batters. Last season, Brown led the Bulldogs in relief appearances (26) with a 2.89 ERA and three saves in 28 innings pitched and as a freshman at Georgia, he made 15 relief appearances spanning 12.1 innings with a 3.65 ERA.
Hockin comes to the Rox as a freshman at Cal State Fullerton. Currently, the 6-foot-2, 205 lbs. right-hander has appeared in nine games, throwing 16.2 innings for the Titans and striking out 10 batters with a 4.86 ERA. Before Cal State Fullerton, Hockin was a standout at Damien High School and Bonita High School in California where in his senior season, he earned All-Hacienda League honors throwing 35 innings, striking out 45 and winning five games with a 1.40 ERA after being named the no. 6 prospect by Perfect Game during his tenure in the West Coast League. Hockin is also the grandson of Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew, who played 22 seasons in the major leagues and totaled 573 career homeruns.
Lumsden, a 6-foot-3, 255 lbs. junior at Mercer holds a 2.17 ERA in his 2014 campaign, firing 29 innings over a team-high 24 appearances and registering a team-high six saves. He is currently 2-3 with 28 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .243 clip at the plate. Last season, Lumsden appeared in 26 games for Mercer with four starts, going 5-2 in the process and striking out 49 batters in 55.1 innings pitched.
Peitzmeier enters St. Cloud this summer having pitched in 20 games for Cal State Fullerton as a junior, including one start in 12.1 innings with a 2.19 ERA while striking out 12 and walking seven. Last season, the 6-foot-2, 205 lbs. left-hander was named Big West Conference Honorable Mention, going 3-0 with one save and a 0.57 ERA in 31.2 innings pitched at CSF. He also recorded 15 strikeouts with a 2.75 ERA and made the most appearances (16) by any left-hander at Cal State Fullerton in his freshman season.
Field Manger Augie Rodriguez, along with the Rox organization, will continue to build the roster for the third season of Rox baseball in 2014. The Rox home opener is Friday, May 30th at 7:05p.m. at Joe Faber Field presented by Coborn’s. For Rox season tickets and/or partial ticket plans, please call (320) 240-9798.
The St. Cloud Rox 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 summer collegiate 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.stcloudrox.com.
