Eau Claire Express field manager Dale Varsho announced the addition of freshman pitchers Rudy Jaramillo and Louis Head to his 2009 roster. The two most recent commitments bring the Express roster to 16.

The Madison Mallards have signed last year’s National Junior College Player of the Year, Texas A&M junior catcher Joe Patterson, for the 2009 season. Patterson won the award after leading Seminole State College (OK) to the Region II semifinals and hitting .428 with 28 home runs and 95 RBIs. He was also named a First-Team All-American and received the Rawlings Big Stick Award for his efforts. The Mallards are excited to announce pitching coach Jason Immekus and hitting coach Jason Smith have agreed to return to Madison in the same roles for the 2009 season.

The Madison Mallards announced the team has signed Hawaii freshman pitcher Matt Sisto and Fort Hays State junior outfielder Greg Bieker for the 2009 season. Sisto, a 2008 graduate of Cypress (CA) High School, helped lead his team to league championships from 2005-07. The Anaheim native was named a TPX Preseason First Team All-American before his senior year. Meanwhile, Bieker was named to the All-MIAA First Team after leading the Tigers in batting average (.399), hits (79), and doubles (21), and ranking second of the team in home runs (14) and RBI (58) last season. Greg’s brother, Jeff, was a member of the Mallards 2004 Northwoods League Championship team and played in Madison the following summer as well.

The Waterloo Bucks announced the signing of two more players with the additions of Dallas Baptist University's Jason Krizan and Jared Wagoner of Butler University.

The Rochester Honkers Baseball Club announced that Aaron Johnson, a 6'0", 210-pound junior catcher from the University of Illinois will return for his second season behind the plate for the Honkers. He’ll join second year Honker and Illinois teammate, Phil Haig, on the squad this summer. Currently Johnson is hitting .366 with four home runs and a team-high 28 RBI.

The Battle Creek Bombers announced the recent signings of four more players to their 2009 roster. Pitchers Matt Parish and James White from the University of North Carolina Greensboro are set to join pitcher Atlee Pearson and infielder Chas Anthony from Erskine College on the 2009 Bombers.

The Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers announced that Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew will be on hand to throw out the first pitch when they open their season on Thursday, May 28 at Stewart C. Mills Field. Killebrew will also be the keynote speaker at the Lunkers Home Opener Luncheon presented by Cub Foods taking place at the Legacy on Thursday, May 28 at 11:30 am.

Seattle Mariners RHP Chris Jakubauskas (Jak-uh-bou-skuhs) made his Major League debut Wednesday night in a 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome. He becomes the 51st Northwoods League player to make it to the big leagues. The former St. Cloud River Bat threw two scoreless innings, while allowing one hit and striking out two. He erased the one hit he allowed by picking off Michael Cuddyer at second base following a double.

The Rochester Honkers Baseball Club announced the signing of Nick Ramirez, a 6’3”, 225 pound infielder and left handed pitcher from Cal State Fullerton. The Titans are currently 18-4 and are ranked 1st in the nation by Baseball America.

Former decorated Oklahoma high school two-sport athlete Mark Ginther has signed with the Madison Mallards for the 2009 season, giving the team flexibility in finding a cohesive left side of the infield. Ginther, who is being used extensively as a shortstop and third-baseman during his freshman year at Oklahoma State this spring, is a graduate of Jenks High School in Tulsa, OK where he helped lead the school to back-to-back state football championships as a quarterback his junior and senior campaigns. He wasn’t too shabby on the baseball diamond either, hitting .430 with eight home runs and 50 RBI his senior year. He also posted a 9-1 record and 0.99 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 56.2 innings on the mound. Ginther was drafted in the 48th round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.