Bret Atwood on a rampage, Darrah, Sandford & Keudell heating up

Bret Atwood will bring his hot
bat back to the Bucs in 2010.
Photo: AnchorageBucs.com

Texas State junior outfielder Bret Atwood (Bucs, 2009/2010 Recruit) has been unstoppable as of late, extending his nine-game hitting streak on Tuesday with an unforgettable performance: five-for-six with a double, four RBIs and a pair of steals. It doesn't get much better than that, folks. Atwood's big game helped his Bobcats blow the Texas Tech Red Raiders out of the water, 13-7, and even up their all-time record against the team at 6-6.

On the collegiate season, the second-year Bucs recruit is hitting .379 with an OPS of .884 and four steals. Atwood hit .350 with nine SB for the younger Anchorage squad in 2009. From the looks of things, Bret should add yet another potent bat to the Bucs' offensive powerhouse this year.

But the Bucs aren't the only ones putting up big performances. This past weekend was good to some Goldpanners, particularly last year's freshman All-American Jesse Darrah (2009/2010 recruit) who went the distance with a one-run complete game win over 16th-ranked UC Irvine. Darrah struck out seven and walked only two, but he couldn't have picked up the win without some help from his fellow 2010 Panners recruits from the Sac State club. Justin Lamb put down the sacrifice bunt in a key situation and Derrick Chung touched home on a wild pitch after reaching base on a walk.



Another Goldpanner that I've touted highly before -- Darian Sandford (2010 Recruit) -- is proving that he's a player to watch. In Park University's doubleheader on Monday he put up some eye-popping stats: 4-for-7, a walk, three runs, an RBI, and (if I'm reading the box scores correctly, because I can hardly believe it) four steals, including three in one game. He laid down a bunt single, which I'm usually impressed by, but for a guy like Sandford I guess it's not that big of a deal since he runs faster than most infielders can throw.

By this point we all know that the Panners & Bucs have some good players, but how about some Glacier Pilots? We haven't heard much about their recruits because we don't know who many of them are, but one returning Pilot -- Alex Keudell -- had an interesting outing for the Oregon Ducks on Sunday. Keudell looked good, pitching 5.2 innings and striking out seven without surrendering an earned run. The head-scratcher is how he managed to give up five unearned. I'll let the official scorers worry about that one, but in any event, this was the first loss of the season for Keudell (3-1) who has a paltry 1.40 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 25.2 IP. Keudell is looking good so far and I think his second year in the ABL will be a good one.

As always, I'll keep my eyes peeled for more top performances of ABL recruits this spring. Every day we're getting a little bit closer to the start of the Alaska League season, and I'll be with you all the way up until the first pitch and beyond.