57’s begin WMBL title defense tonight
The two-time defending league champion Swift Current 57’s will get their season underway tonight when they host the Weyburn Beavers at 7:05 p.m. at Mitchell Field.
The 57’s will jump right into their Western Major Baseball League regular season schedule with six games in the first seven days of the season. They also visit the Moose Jaw Miller Express on Friday and the Regina Red Sox on Sunday as they get a quick glance at some Eastern Division rivals.
The 57’s will be at home on Monday and Tuesday against the Melville Millionaires and then host Moose Jaw on Wednesday.
The 57’s will have an entirely new look to their roster with only one player expected to return from last season’s championship team.
Pocatello, Idaho’s Mitch Guiberson will be the lone holdover from the 2017 season. The 6’4’’ right-handed pitcher was a late addition but finished with a 3.22 earned run average in the regular season with a 2-1 record over four appearances. He also made three starts in the post-season with a 2-1 record and a 3.09 ERA.
The 57’s are also expecting significant contributions from outfielder Bryan Benz from the University of Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky. The 6’2’’ outfielder from Arlington, Texas led his team with 20 home runs while batting .303 with 62 runs batted in over 58 games this season.
Amongst the first players to arrive in Swift Current were Dauson Tate and Aaron Pugh.
Tate is a catcher and third baseman from Pueblo, West Colorado who played at Dodge City Community College in Kansas for the past two seasons. Tate caught the eye of former 57’s assistant coach Eric Dorton last season at a series between his Dodge City Conquistadors and Dorton’s Cloud County College Tbirds.
“I had a very good series. I hit five home runs on the weekend, four on the first day,” explained Tate. “Obviously the assistant coach is watching me right there, so he asked me to come out last year, but I had already committed to a team last year, so I told him to give it the year and I’ll come back this next year. Here I am.”
This past season, Tate hit .307 with five home runs, 10 doubles and 43 RBI in 54 games started and was named to the Kansas Jayhawks Community College Conference All-conference Second-team. He recently signed with Longwood University, a Division I program in Virginia.
His college team finished with a 31-25 record and Tate is looking forward to having another winning season with the 57’s.
“They’ve won the championship the last two years, so obviously this is a program that shows they’re a winning team. I am very excited to get out and see what coach [Joe] Carnahan has. With coach Bodie [Cooper] being his first season I am excited to see what he is going to bring to the table.”
Pugh is a right-handed pitcher from Boissevain, MB who recently completed his sophomore season with the University of Jamestown Jimmies in North Dakota.
Pugh said his fastball generally sits at 84-85 miles per hour. His arsenal includes a fastball, curveball, slider, and change-up.
“It is going to be good,” said Pugh as he looked towards Thursday’s season opener. “It’s going to be fun getting back to it. It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve been in a game so just getting that atmosphere and getting back in that groove is going to be great.”