Mankato, Minn. – The Mankato MoonDogs are proud to announce the signing of four new hurlers today. Tim Griffin (Rollins), Zach Whitman (Georgia Southwestern), Bennett Whitmore (Oregon) and Tony Manville (Iowa) all have signed on to pitch for the MoonDogs this summer.
Griffin is coming of a solid junior season at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. He earned an honorable mention to Sunshine State All-Conference team by leading the Tars in several categories, finishing the season with a 7-3 record with a 3.23 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 83.2 innings. The highlight of Griffin’s season came against #1 ranked Barry, when he threw a complete game shutout, in a Tars series victory.
Whitman had a history-making campaign for Georgia Southwestern, becoming the first Hurricane to earn All-Peach Belt honors since the school joined the NCAA as Division II members. The junior finished in the top-ten in the conference in strikeouts (fifth with 67) and innings pitched (fifth with 86.1), along with coming in at 11th in ERA (3.86). Whitman finished the season with a 3-5 record and three complete games.
Whitmore has been one of the key components for the Oregon pitching staff this spring, splitting time between the bullpen and starting rotation. Whitmore has started seven games and made seven relief appearances en route to a 1-6 record. Going into the last four games of the spring, Whitmore stands at fourth on the team in innings pitched (46), third in strikeouts (35) and fourth with his seven games started.
Manville finalizes the latest of the MoonDog signings. He has seen limited action for the Hawkeyes, appearing in eight games and tossing 11.1 innings. Manville has stuck out four and has an ERA of 6.35 without a decision.
Opening Day for the MoonDogs is just around the corner. The squad opens the season on May 28 (Thursday) at Rochester, before returning for the home opener on May 29 against the same Rochester Honker squad. Opening night festivities include an appearance by Wally "The Beer Man” and a post-game fireworks extravaganza.
