Four members of the Talladega College Tornadoes will suit up in Cardinal red for the summer of 2014, three of which will be returning to Yorkton for their second go around at Jubilee Park.
Catcher Kameron Mizzell, catcher George Santiago and pitcher Jeff Pool will make their way north for their second WMBL season and will be joined by college teammate Matt Collier (outfield).
Mizzell played in 33 games last summer for the Cardinals picking up 26 hits including three homeruns while driving in 10 runs. While his .257 batting average wasn't outstanding, Mizzell's defence was.
The 6'0", 210 pound senior from Sylacauga, Alabama, made just two errors in the entire 2013 season while recording 147 outs and assisting on 24 others.
So far this college season Mizzell has been one of the go-to guys on the Talladega Tornadoes, leading the team with five homeruns while picking up 24 RBIs.
His .347 batting average has also been impressive, as has his durability; Mizzell has played in a team high 37 of the teams 40 games so far this season.
Defensively Mizzell has also been spectacular at Talladega College. He has made just one error in 37 games while recording 161 putouts and eight assists while throwing out 10 of 19 attempted base stealers.
Mizzell has also seen very limited action on the mound tossing three scoreless innings for the Tornadoes picking up one save while going 1-0 with one walk and one strikeout.
Mizzell's fellow catcher for both the Tornadoes as well as the Cardinals is George Santiago.
A senior from Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, Santiago, like Mizzell, has enjoyed a large amount of personal success at the collegiate level this year.
Through 28 games with the Talladega Tornadoes Santiago has collected 36 hits for a sparkling .424 batting average. Of those 36 hits three are homeruns while seven are doubles. Santiago has also walked 10 times this season while striking out a mere three times, or once every .03 at bats.
Santiago also leads the Tornadoes in the area of Slugging Percentage where he has an amazing .612 percentage.
However Santiago has somewhat struggled defensively this year for Talladega College making six errors while recording 119 outs in 28 games.
Last summer with the Cardinals Santiago hit .311 with one homerun and 14 RBIs on a team that struggled to score runs all season.
The third returnee to the Cardinals is senior pitcher Jeff Pool.
Pool, a native of West Monroe, Louisiana, went 3-5 for the Redbirds in the summer of 2013 walking 21 and striking out 42. His nine starts were a team best and his 4.40 ERA put him third overall behind Shaniel Rivera and David Toth.
This year at Talladega College Pool is 3-3 with a 5.84 ERA. He has allowed 14 walks and struck out just 19 but has allowed just one homerun in 153 batters faced.
The fourth and final TalladegaTornado to join the Yorkton Cardinals is newcomer Matthew Collier.
Collier is a sophomore outfielder with the Tornadoes who has hit .339 in 27 games (18 starts) in 2014.
Of the 21 hits he has collected two are homeruns and five are doubles. He has also driven in 18 runs in limited action proving that he can get a base hit at a crucial time in the game.
A native of Sylacauga, Alabama, Collier has made just one error in 27 games this season and has thrown two runners out from the outfield with his strong arm.
Welcome back to Yorkton to the three returning players and welcome to Yorkton to Collier.
