Mankato, MN)—The Mankato MoonDogs Baseball Club, a member of the Northwoods League, is proud to announce the signing of freshman pitcher Cole DeVries, of the University of Minnesota.

DeVries, a 6’2”, 190 lbs right-handed pitcher for the Golden Gophers, has made an immediate impact to the Gophers rotation, according to Gophers pitching coach Todd Oakes.

"Cole’s biggest asset is his confidence and that shows when he’s on the mound. His mindset directly affects his abilities, I mean he knows he can hit a spot and will be aggressive and just do it,” Oakes added.

In his first game, he was thrown in to the fires of college baseball against the then ranked #4 Miami Hurricanes. Going for 2.2 innings, DeVries allowed only 2 runs, as the Gophers fell 9-2. Then in the Dairy Queen Classic, the Gophers turned to DeVries to shutdown the offense of #14 Nebraska. His three innings of shutout ball, allowed the Gophers to win the game and advance to the championship game where they defeated Florida State to win the tournament.

Showing why the Gophers trust in such a young arm, DeVries ranks first in saves(2), is tied for first in wins(2), and is tied for second in ERA(2.51) and appearances(6), while opponents are hitting a mere .241 off the Eden Prairie native.

"Great pitchers flourish in the Northwoods League and I believe that is exactly what Cole will do for us. He’s a young kid with a sky’s-the-limit potential, I can’t imagine anything but good things this year,” MoonDogs head coach Brad Rupert said from his office at Shasta Community College in Redding, Calif.

In his senior year at Eden Prairie High School, 2003, DeVries racked up the accolades being named the Class 3A Player of the Year. He was also named to the All-State and All-Region teams as well as twice being named to the All Lake Conference and All County teams in his high school career.

MoonDogs baseball starts in just 55 days, with the first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m. against the Alexandria Beetles, on June 2nd. Season tickets and group tickets are on sale now, with single game tickets available May 1st. Call the MoonDogs ticket office, 507-625-7047, or check out www.mankatomoondogs.com for any of your MoonDogs needs.