THE MELVILLE ADVANCE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2011
Courtesy of The Melville Advance

Another season of Melville Millionaires baseball is set to start and the brass for the club are expecting a solid season.

Coach Michael Crabtree will see a lot of new faces in the line-up and he expects this year’s club to be very competitive.

“With this being my second time around, a lot of things were easier for me this time,” confides Crabtree in an interview at Melville’s Pirie Field recently. “Having a whole off-season to recruit helps a lot.”

Last season, with the club under a new regime, the team was hastily put together but still enjoyed a reasonably successful season in the Western Major Baseball League’s (WMBL) East Division.

This year, Crabtree expects his club to have a few different attributes from last year’s squad.

“I believe we have more depth coming into this season than we did last year,” explains Crabtree. “We tried to get players who are versatile and able to fill different roles for us--more utility guys.”

Crabtree, who handles the position players and hitting for the most part is looking to some players to supply the club with a spark when the season begins today (Wednesday).

“We expect Matt Helms to be a big part of this ball club,” says Crabtree of the six-feet, one-inch, 190 pound outfielder who had a solid sophomore season with Seminole State College.

Helms hit at a .357 clip last season as a freshman, registering 20 hits, 14 runs and five steals in five attempts.

“Will Fontnow will probably be our speed guy and we think he’ll be able to put up some numbers for us also,” Crabtree adds.

Fontnow may remind Mils fans of the departed James Green, as the five-feet, ten-inch junior from Northwoods University in Texas is a speedster who can get the job done at the plate.

Fontnow hit .403 this season with 60 runs, 34 RBI and three homers while stealing 22 bases in 26 attempts.

The Millionaires will also have outfielder Nick Senior back for another season and Crabtree says his contribution to the club last season can’t be overlooked.

“Nick was a .300 hitter for us last year and we think he’ll be one of the leaders on this club,” Crabtree adds, saying he also expects returnee Philip Roscoe to be able to concentrate on catching this season after a

role as a utility player last year. New assistant coach Jacob Hall will be handling the pitchers for the Millionaires but both he and Crabtree are excited about the prospect of having freshman shortstop Austin Pfeiffer from Northern Oklahoma-Enid in

the Blue and White. “He (Pfeiffer) can pitch and I think he led his team in hitting this year and he’s also a tremendous shortstop who we think will be our everyday guy for us,” says Hall, adjusting to the cool climate Saskatchewan can

provide in May. “He’s the type of player we’ve been looking for,” chimes in Crabtree. “We need those versatile guys who can get us through a short schedule with lots of games crammed in.”

It’s Halls first time in Canada and while he’s not excited about the current weather he says he likes his summer home so far.

“It’s a little chilly but the people here are really nice. It was 92 (degrees fahrenheit) and humid when I left home (Winston-Salem, NC) but I can do without the humidity,” he chuckles.

Hall’s timely decision to come to the WMBL may bode well for the Millionaires.

“Actually, I decided kind of late that I wanted to coach in a summer league,” says the 25-year-old former pitcher at Indiana Tech and current coach for the Winston-Salem State program. “I think it’s a good fit--it

was one those ‘right-place, right-time’ kind of things.” Hall says his philosophy on pitching is a simple one.

“I look for guys who can keep the ball down, hit spots and guys who don’t walk people,” he explains.

A pair of pitchers Hall expects to lead the Millionaires are Allen Rimer, a sophomore from Iowa Central College and John Markley, another sophomore he has coached at Winston-Salem State.

“Both of these guys had solid springs and they should both start for us,” Hall adds.

The rapport between the coaches is evident with both having a laid-back style with the basics taking a front seat, an approach Hall seems to think will keep the Millionaires focused on their goal: a WMBL

championship. “I think we should be all right,” Hall concludes.

Melville Millionaires president Jeff Bouvier is also excited about the prospect of a new season with Crabtree back behind the bench and he’s hoping the team can be near the top of the standings.

“Well, you never really know what you have until you see what some of the other teams have,” he says. “We know a team like the Swift Current Indians will be tough and Weyburn will be tough. Saskatoon’s really loaded up this year and the Regina Red Sox will have the WMBL Most Valuable Player back in Mitch McDonald, so they’ll be good too. I guess it’s just a matter of getting between the lines and playing the games now.” Crabtree says he hopes the fans will come out and support a team which will have a bit of a lunch-bucket mentality when it comes to game time.

“We expect to put a good product on the field with guys who will play hard and with the way they play we think they’ll be a fun group to watch.”

The Millionaires open their season today (Wednesday) in Moose Jaw versus the Miller Express and the two clubs will hook up again Thursday at Pirie Field for Melville’s home-opener. Friday the Millionaires will host the Weyburn Beavers and all games are set to start at 7:05 p.m.