The Mankato MoonDogs Baseball Club, a member of the Northwoods League, is proud to announce the signing of three players for 2011 season. Infielder James McDonald from Arizona State University (Phoenix, AZ), left-handed pitcher Scotty Walker from the University of California – Davis (Davis, CA), and outfielder Shaun Cooper from the University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT) have committed to play for the MoonDogs for the 2011 season.

McDonald, a 5-foot-11-inch, 170-pound infielder hasn’t seen much action this spring as a freshman on the very talented, #4 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils. As a senior at Chaparral High School, McDonald was a 2010 First Team All-State and All-Region selection and also earned MVP honors in the 5A-II All-Star Game. James was selected in the 11th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago White Sox.

"McDonald comes to us from a great high school program, and a great college program at Arizona State," said Orchard. "He hasn’t had a lot of playing time as a young guy behind a lot of talent at Arizona State, but as a switch-hitting, versatile infielder, he’ll see plenty of action with us."

Walker, a 6-foot-1-inch, 200-pound junior has held batters to a .219 batting average for the Aggies this spring. In high school, Walker was named team MVP and garnered first-team All-Sierra Foothill League honors both his junior and senior years.

"Walker is a talented lefty that throws in the upper 80’s who we plan to use as on option out of the bullpen," said Orchard. "I’m excited to get him up to Mankato this summer and see what he can bring to the club."

Cooper a 5-foot-10-inch, 195-pound junior is hitting .352 this spring for the Utes. Cooper is tied for second on the team in home runs (7), slugging percentage (.610), RBIs (42), on-base percentage (.410), and is tied for the team lead in triples (6). Cooper has also been perfect in the field for the Utes, starting all 44 games this spring and not committing a single error.

"I got a chance to see Shaun when he was a stand-out at Pima Community College (Tucson, AZ) since they play in the same league as us here at Central Arizona," said Orchard. "He can play a couple different spots in the outfield for us and will bring some power to our lineup."

The MoonDogs home opener featuring special guest Paul Molitor is scheduled for Wednesday, June 1 at 7:05 p.m. against the Rochester Honkers. Season and single game tickets are on sale now at the MoonDogs office located at 1221 Caledonia Street. For more information visit our website at www.mankatomoondogs.com or call the MoonDogs office at 507-625-7047