Southpaw added to staff

Austin Park is the latest addition to the Marion Bobcats. A sophomore at Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, Ill., he is primarily a lefty pitcher but also plays first base. He is 6-1 and is 180 pounds and hails from Elburn, Ill.

"He is throwing well so far this year," said General Manager Gordon Guess.

Park is 2-0 with eight strikeouts in 11.2 innings with an ERA of 0.771.

Marion to open season at home

For the first time in the team's three-year history, the Bobcats will open the KIT League season at home.

The Bobcats will play host to new league entry Farmington on Friday, June 4 to kick off the 2010 season. The Browns will remain in town Saturday for the final two games of the series to be played in a twin-bill. The season-opening home stand will close Monday, June 7 when Fulton comes to Guess Field for one game.

The 46-game slate for the Bobcats will feature eight doubleheaders, played on each Saturday of the regular season. Conversely, only one Sunday game has been scheduled—a road game at Farmington. Twelve off-days have also been worked into the calendar, incorporating the idle Sundays which include the league all-star game at Owensboro on July 4.

This year's schedule will feature two four-game home stands and one four-game road trip, and will showcase interleague home games against Nashville, Middle Tennessee and East Tennessee of the Tennessee Summer Collegiate Baseball Association.

In addition to Fulton, Farmington and the TSCBA opponents, the Bobcats will face Owensboro and rival Tradewater. The regular season ends July 24 at Fulton, with the playoffs starting two days later.

For a complete look at the 2010 KIT League schedule, follow this link.

Sutton returns to Bobcats

The Marion Bobcats will return two-thirds of their catching staff from the 2009 season when play begins June 4 at Guess Field.

Zach Sutton, who hit .287 in 29 games in last year's campaign, will join Fred Rossi behind the plate for the coming season. A native of Independence, Mo., the 6-2, 185-pound Sutton is a sophomore at Travecca Nazarene University in Nashville.

Sutton is one of three Bobcats returning from last year. He joins Rossi and infielder Drew Barrett.

Two more infielders have also been added to the roster, both from Ontario, Canada.
Josh Federico, a 5-11 shortstop at Cleveland State University joins Toronto-native Maxx Tissenbaum, a freshman infielder at Stony Brook University in New York.

Federico and Tissenbaum are the first international players in the Bobcats' three-year history.

Too catch a glimpse of players already signed for 2010, visit the Bobcats on Facebook.

New team joins depleted league

Kitty League action will return to Farmington, Mo. this year, but things won't be the same as they were in the summer of 2008 when the league last played there. The team will have a new look, new ownership and even a new name, according to The Daily Journal, a newspaper in Park Hills, Mo.

New owner Ted Kapnick said last month the Farmington club will have no ties to the city's charter member of the KIT League, the Firebirds. To distance the team from the previous franchise, Kapnick's club will be called the Browns, paying homage to the former St. Louis Browns of the American League. To further the connection to the now defunct professional team just up the road from Farmington, the new Browns will be outfitted in complete vintage 1934 St. Louis Browns uniforms, both home and away.

The Browns will join a depleted Kitty League, with only four of last year's six franchises active in 2010. Marion, Owensboro, Fulton and Tradewater will round out the five-member circuit. Sikeston and Union City will be idle in 2010. To balance the schedule, interleague games will be played with teams from leagues in neighboring states.

Marion fans will get their first look at the Browns when they open the season at home on June 4.

For the complete Daily Journal story on the Farmington Browns, follow this link.