Even though the college baseball season is over, the Sunbirds are keeping busy this summer. Three Sunbirds played in All-Star games, while one Sunbird made his debut with his new independent professional team last week. Danny Mora,
Brian Oliver and
Case Rigby all qualified for their respective All-Star teams, but before Oliver could play, the Calgary Vipers picked him up as a relief pitcher.
Mora and Oliver were playing in the California Collegiate League for the Santa Maria Packers. Mora is 3-1 for the summer with a 1.85 ERA and 33 strikeouts. Oliver had four saves and 10 strikeouts in appearances before moving on to the Vipers. Oliver debuted on Tuesday, July 7 where he pitched one inning against the Orange County Flyer.
Oliver faced two batters, both former major-leaguers, according to Coach Oscar Hirschkorn. Coach Hirschkorn also commented, “I’m really happy Brian is getting a chance to play professional ball.”
Rigby also made his Athletes in Action All-Star team in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, playing alongside Andrew Douglas with the Xenia Scouts.
Douglas and Rigby are hitting 0.224 and 0.304 respectively for the season, while Rigby has 14 RBIs to help him into his All-Star standing for the second straight year in the Great Lakes League.
Rigby had a great All-Star game, going 1-3 with a homerun and two RBIs to help his team win 7-3.
Coach Hirschkorn added on the news, ”We’re usually pretty busy in the summer. We have to farm out the guys in the summer to make sure they get some games in the off season.”