Dunphy pitches gem against Pioneers to split the series

Former Brandeis' ace Tim Dunphy turned the opening game of the Angels - Pioneers series into a one man show.
Dunphy had his best outing of the season on Saturday, blanking the most producive offense in the league in a 2 hits - 13 strike-outs gem.
His performance wasn't limited at throwing quality pitches. He also displayed Spiderman-like skills taking away a bunch of would-be base-hits from the visiting team.
Kenny Vandenbrande, Hoboken starter allowed only 5 hits, striking out 9. Two of these hits came in the second. Juny Gressman broke a 5 game hitless streak with a single then scored on a triple by... Dunphy who didn't have a DH for the first time this season. Angels win it 1-0.

Sunday, Namur played on the road to face Justin Prinstein, the American pitcher from Hoboken.
In his first 2 starts, Prinstein pitched a no-hitter then a one-hitter. He only lasted 3 innings this time, allowing 6 runs to a very agressive Angels lineup.
On the other side, the young Adrien Stokart was getting his first start this season. A little nervous and uncomfortable at first, he allowed 4 runs in the first 2 innings, then settled down, giving up only 1 in the next 4 frames.
In the 7th, though, Thomas DeWolf hit a 2-outs, 2-strikes bases loaded triple to put Hoboken on top for the first time.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Pioneers score one more run against Angel reliever Philippe DiGiosue and were ready to score more without an unreal double play from 2nd baseman Jérôme Sana.
Sana left his feet to catch a little looper in shallow right field, down the line then got up in a hurry throwing a strike to catcher Juny Gressman to retire the tagging runner at the plate.
Entering the 9th inning with a 4-run deficit, the Angels, boosted by that play, were not going down without a fight loading the bases with nobody out. Adrien Geuquet drove in Namur's 7th run on a base hit to left field. But again, Lorrentop got the job done, getting 2 pop outs and a ground out to get the win. Angels lost 10-7 but showed major improvements defensively and offensively. A good sign before facing Borgerhout next week-end.

Pioneers' B-team ended Angels'B-team winning streak with a strong 10-0 win on Sunday.

Cadets swept the Merchtem Cats to get their 2nd and 3rd win this season and move into the 2nd place in their division.

Another New England All Star for Namur

That's it. The Angels have found their ace for the new season.

Tim Dunphy, a 6-3 foot left-hander from Brandeis University will anchor our pitching staff in 2007.

The Judges's n°1 starter and captain for the last 4 years just finished a stellar College career. For his College debut, he fanned 10 batters. He closed out that same year by tossing a complete game 2-hit shoutout in the finals of the ECAC tournament (Eastern College Athletic Conference).

In the Summer of 2005, Tim has been invited by the Hyannis Mets from the prestigious Cape Cod League to face the top college players in nation.

Last year, Tim went 6 or more innings in 11 of its 12 starts, posting a 2.35 ERA and winning 10 games, good for 4th in the nation.
That performance earned him the honor to be a part of the NEIBA All Star team, like new Angel teammate Derek Lyons, and play at Fenway against a selection of D1 players.

Finally, here is another reason why Angels can be happy with this deal. Here is what Brandeis' coach, Pete Varney, told the Boston Herald: "The biggest thing is he's very competitive, and able to stay calm in the face of fury. No question he's our No. 1 pitcher. If there was a big game tomorrow he'd be our guy."

Well, he is going to be the guy for us this Summer.

New England Player of the Year to wear black and gold in 2007.

After a disappointing 2006 season, the Angels are looking forward to get back on track.

In order to achieve that goal, they addressed one of their biggest needs by bringing shortstop Derek Lyons from Salem State College.

The Danvers (Ma) resident, who led his team to the NCAA play-offs for the first time in 12 years, collected 63 hits in 139 at-bats, 31 of those for extra-bases.

Derek nationally ranked 20th in batting average (0.453), 18th in RBIs per game (1.33) , 8th in doubles per game (0.54) and 7th in slugging average (0.813).

That stellar campaign earned him the D3 College New England Player of the Year award as well as an All American second team selection.

Salem State Vikings coach Ken Perrone says: “There's no question he was the top player in New England and one of the best in the nation. His stats speak for themselves. And the best thing about Derek is he's a super leader and individual”

About his defense, assistant coach Jason Doviak told us that “sometimes he gets to a ball behind 2nd base and by the time you wonder how he’s gonna throw it, it’s already gone”
“You are not going to see a 90 mph throw across the diamond but he is unbelievably quick” he added.

With a solid hitting shortstop now on board, Angels can now focus on improving their pitching staff. A few contacts have already been made everything should be done by Christmas.

Ben Kimball in Australia

Ben Kimball signed with the Narangba Demons, a ballclub located in the suburb area of Brisbane, on the East coast from Australia.

Ben played 4 years for Brockport State, leading the Golden Eagles to their first World Series tournament. His 9-1 record and 1.81 ERA earned him the All American honors in 2004.
In 2005, he struck out 126 batters in 99.2 innings, posting a 2.89 ERA for the Namur Angels. He had his best performance in the 2nd round of the season, pitching a 16 strike-out shutout against the Mortsel Stars.

We wish him good luck out there.


In the meantime, in the South of Australia, Kirt Zimniewicz is still doing some damage. In his last game before Christmas break, he went 5 for 5, falling one double short from the cycle.

Last year, Kirt deserved the Barry Bonds treatment after he hit .434 with 7 doubles, 2 triples and 7 homeruns in 87 at-bats. He also swiped 12 bases in 13 attempts.
His team, the Geelong Giants, will start back up the competition this coming week-end.

We'll continue to keep you updated with the results from these 2 former Angels.

Angels land their big bat

Angels' quest for a power hitter came to a close yesterday when they signed right-handed hitter Brian Chapman, NCAA Division 2 All American First Team.

After playing in the Summer of 2004 in the Coastal Plain wooden bat League, he had a terrific year in 2005 at Carson-Newman College (TN) hitting for an average of 0.355 with 15 doubles, 3 triples and... 19HR, good for 5th in the nation in both homeruns and RBIs.

Those stellar numbers allowed him to collect the following awards in 2005:

• SAC (South Atlantic Conference) Offensive Player of the year
  
• SAC Player of the Year
  
• First Team All-Conference
  
• Regional Player of the Year
  
• First Team All Region
  
• First Team All-American

The lone offensive production that Namur expects to get would make them happy but hitting is not his only tool.
A left-handed thrower, Brian is blessed with a very good arm. His fastball in the upper 80s to low 90s raised interest from the Richmond Roosters, a Frontier League team, that signed him last year as a pitcher.

After a long conversation with Brian who said that he was "thrilled by this opportunity", an Angel representative came to this conclusion: "No question that he is a great player, we knew it before we talked to him. But he sounds like a great guy too, classy but very laid back. He'll be a great fit for this ballclub. Because being a good player is not all. Since coaching kids is also part of the deal, we need guys who act with class on and off the field. With Matt (Rivers) and Brian, an Education Major, I think that we have exactly that."

News from Down Under

After terrorizing the opposing pitchers last year for the Angels, Kirt Zimniewicz got the opportunity to play for the Geelong Giants, from the Victorian baseball League in Australia.

After a cold start, Zim is tearing up the leather from the ball.
His team is 11-6 and ranks 3rd in the League at the moment. The Giants are riding the wave of a 3 game winning sreak, all 3 being come-from-behind wins and expect to carry that momentum into next week when they will face the leader, Blackburn.
The 5-tool player, that everyone here is missing, promised to keep us updated regularly.

We wish him the best of luck out there and hope to see him back in Namur some day.

Ten Angels selected to All LFBBS Cadet Team

LFBBS announced today his 2006 All LFBBS cadet selection.

Created last year, this elite youth programme, is designed to improve the overall level of baseball in the League.
LFBBS has released the list earlier today and 10 out of a total 18 selected players come from the Angels organization.

It's a big satisfaction for the ballclub, but coaches will remind players that this team is only the beginning of the road that will take them to the next level, the National team.

So keep up the good work kids...

All LFBBS Cadet Team

• DARCAIGNE Raphaël (NAMUR ANGELS)
  
• DE SMEDT Cédric (BRUSSELS KANGAROOS)
  
• DELTOMBE Matthieu (NAMUR ANGELS)
  
• DEMEURE Gauthier (NAMUR ANGELS)
  
• GERARD Victor (BRUSSELS KANGAROOS)
  
• GOYENS Florentin (NAMUR ANGELS)
  
• GRANDMAISON Gatien (NAMUR ANGELS)
  
• HAESAERT Geoffrey (LOUVAIN LA NEUVE PHOENIX)
  
• HEIDEBROEK Thomas (NAMUR ANGELS)
  
• L'HOIR Simon (NAMUR ANGELS)
  
• MEIRLEAN Mathias (LOUVAIN LA NEUVE PHOENIX)
  
• ROELEN Mathieu (LOUVAIN LA NEUVE PHOENIX)
  
• ROME Julien (LOUVAIN LA NEUVE PHOENIX)
  
• SOREE Julien (NAMUR ANGELS)
  
• THONON Jimmy (BROWN BOYS SERAING)
  
• TROUVEROY Sacha (BRUSSELS KANGAROOS)
  
• VANDENABEELE Thomas (NAMUR ANGELS)
  
• VANHEER Edouard (NAMUR ANGELS)

Angels sign Matt Rivers

Namur signed Matt Rivers, a pitcher from Skidmore College, NY.
Last year, Matt logged 82 innings with a 3.94 ERA.
The Plattsburgh (NY) native pitched 6 complete games in 11 starts.
A real workhorse, he also recorded 8 saves in 9 relief appearances, good for 6th in the nation.
In 2005, he was named All Liberty League First team by the ABCA.
A carreer .300 hitter, Matt has seen some action in the middle infield and in centerfield when he wasn't on the mound.
What the Angels like the most about him is his versatility which gives the new Angels coach, Tony Gillis, some options.

Matt Rivers, who graduated in Mathematics last year, will be an assistant coach on the Angels youth programme.

Coaching kids is nothing new to him since he was an assistant coach in Babe Ruth League (kids from 13 to 15) and he helped out in several camps for kids from 7 to 15.

The Angels staff is now looking for a good left-handed hitter to fill the void left by Kirt Zimniewicz (currently playing in Australian D1) who put up crazy numbers for the Angels last season.

Tony Gillis to coach the Angels

Tony Gillis, the new A-team coach, gave its first indoor practice last Sunday.

Tony coached the Angels in the early 90s, helping the team to jump from D3 to D1 during his 3 year tenure.
Then, he became head coach from the Hoboken Pioneers, the Junior national team and Beveren.
He also took part into several Blue Jays MLB instructional league camps in Dunedin.

Press release - Edgewood College - 2/10/2005

Krahn signs professional baseball contract

MADISON, Wis. – Edgewood College student Travis Krahn (Rochester, Minn.) has signed a one-year contract to play baseball professionally in Belgium in 2005. Krahn, a 6-foot-1 infielder, will play for the Namur Angels Baseball Club and will report to the team in March for preseason workouts. He becomes the first-ever Edgewood College student to sign a professional baseball contract.

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