Pilots' Keudell leads weekend's top performances

Alex Keudell will return to the Glacier
Pilots in 2010.

Oregon's Alex Keudell (Pilots, 2010 recruit) remains the hot hand of the Ducks' rotation, turning in another great game. In yesterday's match-up against Nevada, Keudell went seven innings, surrendered four hits, and gave up no runs (earned or otherwise). On the day he struck out a career-high nine batters and walked only 2, carrying the bulk of a combined shutout to close out the team's second series sweep of the season.

This comes on the heels of last week's intriguing performance, and Keudell is now 4-1 with a 1.10 ERA and 35 strikeouts on 32.2 IP. The Pilots have posted a biography on Kuedell; it sounds like he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder after last season's performance with the Pilots, which really influenced his decision to come back to the ABL this year. It's hard to say how regular-season D1 performance will translate into Alaska League summer ball, but if Keudell can carry his recent spring-time success into summer the Pilots' rotation will be seriously bolstered by his return.

As usual, Keudell was not the only ABL-linked player to find success this weekend:



- Christian Bergman (Bucs, 2009) threw six frames of one-run baseball for the UCI Anteaters on Saturday, holding Gonzaga to three hits and three walks while sitting seven down on strikes. Just last week, Bergman tossed his second collegiate-career complete game.

- Nigel Morton (Panners, 2010 recruit) came up big in Southwest Baptist's Friday doubleheader against Emporia State. In the first game he broke through for 3 hits on four at-bats, walking once, scoring three runs and driving in two. In game two he struck out once but scored a run after reaching base on a walk, before being given the night off. Morton is hitting .309 on the year thus far.

- Eddie Rohan (Bucs, 2010 recruit) blasted his first NCAA career walk-off homer, and his second bomb of the game, in the tenth inning of the Winthrop Eagles' match-up against Penn State.