This won’t be Travis Kiewiet’s first game as a Buck but it will be his first as manager of the team. Kiewiet moves from bench coach to manager and takes over a Bucks team that is coming off a 34-36 season last year, their most wins since 2002, which was also the last year they had a winning record (34-30). The Bucks will return some of their core pieces from last season, including 3B Cameron Perkins and OF Davis Hendrickson, both all-stars from last year. Perkins also led the team in BA, homers, RBIs, and steals, but will not return immediately as his team, Purdue, is playing in the NCAA tournament. 2011 7^th round pick Ben Roberts joins the Bucks this year and should be one of the top players on the team. Brock Hudgens will start for the Bucks today, coming off a 3.77 ERA season at Charlotte and being named the 3^rd best prospect in the Southern Collegiate League last summer.

On the other side, the Honkers finished last in their division last season and had the second worst record in the league (25-45) just two years after winning the title. They do return 1B Johnny Coy who led the team in BA and homers last year and had a .914 OPS, as well as pitcher DJ Snelten who led the team with 47 Ks in just 40.1 innings (10.55 per 9 innings) and had an ERA of 4.46. The starter will be Chris Noble from the University of Pikeville, a redshirt senior who finished last season with a 1-6 record and a 5.54 ERA. 

Game Promotions

Radio Coverage

Listen for the Bucks on 1650 The Fan for a play-by-play of tonight’s game with announcer Chris Kleinhans-Schulz.