April 12, 2007
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - With Spring Training a thing of the past, several former UCF baseball players have started their 2007 professional campaigns this month. And by the way things are shaping up, Mike Maroth may very well be joined by a couple more Knight alums in the Majors really soon.
Maroth, who is scheduled to make his second start with the Detroit Tigers Thursday, helped the reigning American League champions defeat Kansas City April 7 by tossing 5.0 innings and striking out three. The left-hander pitched for UCF from 1996-98, mostly in relief situations until his junior year when he was 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 10 starts.
Meanwhile, Chad Mottola, Justin Pope and Clay Timpner are all spending time in Triple-A. Mottola is no stranger to the Syracuse Chiefs as he suited up for 110 games last year with the Toronto Blue Jays' affiliate. This year he has two hits and a stolen base in three outings with the Chiefs. Pope has the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees smiling, where the righty is 1-0 in two relief appearances and has not allowed a hit in 3.0 innings. And Timpner is cruising right along with the Fresno Grizzlies (affiliate of the San Francisco Giants). The outfielder finished 2006 with a .286 average with the Grizzlies, and currently has a .444 mark (8-for-18) with two RBI and two steals in 2007.
In Double-A, Ryan Bear is 5-for-19 (.263) with the Carolina Mudcats of the Florida Marlins system. Jeremy Frost and Mike Myers are now teammates again as they are members of the Birmingham Barons, affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Frost is 3-for-6 with a RBI this year, while Myers has seen time in three games.
Dee Brown and Drew Butera are also working some magic in Single-A ball. Brown boasts a .368 average (7-for-19) with a homer and three RBI for the Potomac Nationals, and Butera has three hits and three runs scored in five games for the St. Lucie Mets.
This year's current UCF team is off this weekend, and hosts the UCF Baseball Golf Classic Saturday and Sunday. The Knights get back to work on the diamond Tuesday with a 6 p.m. showdown at USF. For the latest news and information on the Golden Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF athletics.
Ryan Bear (2002-03) - 1B - Carolina Mudcats (Double A - Florida Marlins)GP BA AB R H HR RBI SB5 .263 19 3 5 0 1 1
Dee Brown (2002-05) - OF - Potomac Nationals (Single A - Washington Nationals)GP BA AB R H HR RBI SB5 .368 19 4 7 1 3 0
Drew Butera (2003-05) - C - St. Lucie Mets (Single A - New York Mets)GP BA AB R H HR RBI SB5 .200 15 3 3 0 0 0
Jeremy Frost (1999-02) - C - Birmingham Barons (Double A - Chicago White Sox)GP BA AB R H HR RBI SB2 .500 6 0 3 0 1 0
Mike Maroth (1996-98) - SP - Detroit TigersGP-GS ERA W-L SV IP H BB K1-1 7.20 1-0 0 5.0 6 1 3
Chad Mottola (1990-92) - RF - Syracuse Chiefs (Triple A - Toronto Blue Jays)GP BA AB R H HR RBI SB3 .154 13 1 2 0 1 1
Mike Myers (2000-02) - SS - Birmingham Barons (Double A - Chicago White Sox)GP BA AB R H HR RBI SB3 .000 8 0 0 0 0 0
Justin Pope (1999-01) - P - Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees (Triple A - New York Yankees)GP-GS ERA W-L SV IP H BB K2-0 0.00 1-0 0 3.0 0 1 3
Clay Timpner (2002-04) - CF - Fresno Grizzlies (Triple A - San Francisco Giants)GP BA AB R H HR RBI SB6 .444 18 4 8 0 2 2="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="http:>