The Swift Current 57’s will have a new name and uniforms when the 2017 Western Major Baseball League season begins on June 1, but they also expect to have five returning players from the 2016 championship team.
The team announced Saturday that pitchers Bobby St. Pierre and Aidan Goodall, utility player Bodie Cooper, outfielder Thomas DeBonville, and first basemen Kyle MacDonald will all return to Swift Current this season.
St. Pierre, Cooper, Goodall and DeBonville were all voted WMBL all-stars in 2016. Cooper also won the WMBL Rookie of the Year award last season.
“All five of these players were key parts of our 2016 league championship,” said Swift Current 57’s coach Joe Carnahan.
“These are all great character guys who are expected to make an impact on the field this season” added Carnahan.
St. Pierre is a 6’2’’ senior from Windsor, ON, who is currently playing at Wayne State College. He finished the season with a 10-3 record with a 2.23 earned run average over 88.2 innings with 63 strikeouts and 20 walks during the regular season and playoffs.
Cooper also plays at Wayne State in his senior season. The Chubbuck, Idaho native hit .317 with 14 doubles, eight home runs, 43 runs scored, and 39 runs batted in last season in Swift Current.
Speedster Thomas DeBonville currently plays for Eastern Arizona College and has a signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Nebraska – Omaha next season. He hit .370, scored 33 runs, knocked home 26, and stole 19 bases in 34 games last season.
Goodall is a senior at the University of British Columbia. He finished with a 5-1 record last season with a 2.78 ERA over 32.1 innings with 33 strikeouts and seven walks in 22 appearances last season.
MacDonald is a Mississauga, ON native who plays at Crowder College. He is enjoying an outstanding sophomore season at Crowder with a .335 average, 12 doubles, 11 home runs, 54 runs scored and 50 RBIs.
The 57’s will open the regular season in June 1 against the Moose Jaw Miller Express. Season tickets, five packs and 10 packs of tickets are available at Pharmasave or by calling Reilly at 306-774-9487.
