Holyoke, MA – The “U” is known for its historic football program and recent success in the basketball program with the Canes run in the 2013 NCAA Men’s basketball tournament.

But Miami also possesses a solid baseball program that turned in a 35-21 overall record, while going 27-10 at home.

A part of that success was pitcher Jace Herrera and outfielder Grant Heyman.

Herrera has made five appearances going five and two-thirds innings pitched giving up only three runs in 2013 for a 1.59 ERA.

The Apopka, Florida native was a five year letterman at Wekiva High School and was selected as the FACA District 10 class 6A Player of the Year and to the First Team West Meto Conference as well.

Joining Herrera from Miami will be outfielder Grant Heyman.

Heyman has played in 24 games this season for the Hurricanes while getting started eight times.

The Pittsford, New York native was a special player coming out of Pittsford-Sutherland High School where he was a four-year letterman in baseball, basketball and football.

The 6-foot-4-freshman in high school was the recipient of the Rawlings National High School Gold Glove Award also was a member of the All-State and All-Northwest Region teams.

Heyman hit .424 in high school and all of his accomplishments were recognized in the 2012 MLB Draft when the Toronto Blue Jays drafted him in the 11^th round.

The Hurricanes open up play in the 2013 ACC Tournament on Thursday at 3 p.m. against top-seeded North Carolina at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Both Herrera and Heyman will join the Blue Sox once the 2013 season for Miami has come to a close.

Holyoke, MA – In 2011 a player by the name of Ronnie Freeman came to Holyoke and helped lead the Blue Sox into the playoffs with his powerful bat.

Freeman came to the Blue Sox from Kennesaw State and was then drafted in the 2012 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks and currently plays in the Class A Midwest League for the South Bend Silver Hawks.

This season, the Blue Sox are hoping for some more future major league talent as three Kennesaw State Owls are set to join the team in 2013 – pitchers Jordan Hillyer, Kendall Hawkins and outfielder Jacob Bruce

Bruce has seen the most playing time for the Owls starting in 52 of the 54 games he has played in this season while batting .306 in his sophomore campaign.

The Woodstock, Georgia native has experience playing summer ball after spending last summer in the Great Lakes league with the Lima Locos. Bruce his .294 with four doubles, two triples and 18 RBIS in 31 games.

Coming off his summer with the Locos, it was back to the Owls where he finished fourth on the team in batting average and tied for second with 11 doubles and drove in 23 runs.

Joining Bruce in Holyoke is going to be pitcher Jordan Hillyer, who has proven to be a key part to the Owls bullpen.

Hillyer has played in nine games while making four starts with a 1-2 overall record and a 3.60 ERA in 20 innings of work while striking out 27 and walking only 15.

The Dacula, Georgia native has been a highly touted player since high school where he was 12-2 overall with 139 strikeouts and a 1.83 ERA and hit .472 at the play with 22 home runs in his career at Hebron Christian High School.

Hillyer was selected in the 20^th round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins.

Finally, Kendall Hawkins will be coming to the Blue Sox for his first summer ball experience.

Hawkins, a 6-foot-1-freshman pitcher, has not played in any games this season for Kennesaw State but was a member of the 2009 State Championship team at Cartersville High School.

The Cartersville, Georgia native hit .375 and got 28 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched and was a member of the 2011 Junior Team Georgia and a part of the 2011 East Coast Pro Top 100 Showcase.

Bruce, Hillyer and Hawkins are all set to join the Blue Sox following the conclusion of the 2013 season for the Owls.

Holyoke, MA – The Holyoke Blue Sox roster consists of players from all over the country who come to Holyoke for the summer to chase their dreams of playing professional baseball.

These players typically stay with “host” families for the summer.

These families provide a bed and some meals for the player(s) they are hosting and in some cases transportation as well and act as a home away from home for their player.

Often times these summer relationships extend far beyond the season and can last lifetimes.

Plus, you never know when you’ll be watching an MLB game on TV and can say; “He stayed with us when he played for the Blue Sox!”

The Blue Sox rely on volunteers to “host” players making our host families an integral part of the Blue Sox team!

Each host family receives free tickets to all Blue Sox games as well as invitations to special events like pre-season events and other perks reserved just for host families.

If you are interested in more information (there is no obligation!) on becoming a host family please contact Lauren DeLisi at lauren@holyokesox.com.

Also you can contact the Blue Sox Office at 413-533-1100 with any questions or to host a Blue Sox player this summer.

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Holyoke, MA – Boys and girls ages 7-14 are invited to come out to MacKenzie Stadium on Sunday, May 12, at 1:30 p.m. as the Blue Sox host a Pitch, Hit & Run competition.

Each division champion has the chance to advance through four levels of the competition with the National Finals being held at the 2013 MLB All-Star game.

All children wanting to compete need to bring a copy of their birth certificate and have their parent/guardian fill out a registration waiver form before they are allowed to start.

Along with getting to compete, in honor of mothers day participants will be given two tickets to the Blue Sox’s June 8^th game against the North Adams Steeplecats and will be invited onto the field during the national anthem along with their mothers.

Any questions about the MLB Pitch, Hit & Run event please contact local coordinator Wes LaValley at lauren@holyokesox.com or call 413-533-1100.

That argument could be made for BYU junior infielder Adam Law.

The Provo, Utah native is not new to the game of baseball as he comes from a family that has a long line of people who have not only played the game but have made history.

Law’s brothers Tim and Andrew both played at BYU, his father Vance is a former head coach of BYU and also played Major League baseball and finally his grandfather Vernon was the 1960 Cy Young winner for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A connection to the Blue Sox is there as well as Adam’s brother Andrew also played summer ball in the NECBL with the Blue Sox, leading Holyoke in batting that summer at .341 and ranked fourth in the NECBL in that category.

So to say Law comes from a “baseball” family would be an understatement.

Adam is now trying to blaze his own path to the majors just like his father and grandfather did before him with a career at BYU.

Before getting to BYU, Law was a standout player at Provo High School being an all-state first and second team selection as a senior and junior, respectively, and MVP and team captain as well.

Law then got to BYU and this season the junior is breaking out.

After batting .221 with two doubles, one triple and one home run while slugging .254 in his sophomore season, 2013 has been much different.

Through 39 games, Law is leading the Cougars in batting average at .347, third in doubles with nine, three triples and 28 RBIs while slugging .467.

All of his stats this season are new career-highs and Law continues to improve.

Law has turned in 16 multi-hit games, 7 multi-RBI performances with his best coming in the series finale against Creighton on March 2.

The 6-foot-1 infielder went 3-for-4 driving in four runs and scoring two runs in the Cougars 14-5 victory.

BYU (22-17) is back in action on Thursday opening a three-game series against Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, California at George C. Page Stadium.

Law is set to join the Blue Sox at the conclusion of the Cougars 2013 campaign.

Holyoke, MA – Single game tickets for the 2013 Blue Sox season will go on-sale on Wednesday, May 1, at 9:00 am.

This will be the first chance for Blue Sox fans to purchase single game tickets for 2013.

Ticket orders can be placed by calling the Blue Sox office at 413-533-1100.

The Blue Sox will host their season opener against new NECBL members, the Ocean State Waves, on June 7 at 6:35 pm at the McKenzie Stadium.

The Blue Sox will also be announcing an exciting Promotional Schedule on May 15^th as well, that will detail the 1st ever Big Red Bobblehead Giveaway, Blue Sox Hat Giveaway, Blue Sox Baseball Giveaway and many more exciting theme nights and giveaways for the Summer of 2013.

This is a terrible tragedy and as an organization, which includes people from all across the country, including the Boston area, we are shocked by the events that have unfolded today and that have affected the entire nation.

We extend our thoughts and prayers to the victims and families of those affected by this terrible event.

Holyoke, MA – The Michigan Wolverines might be currently known best for their men’s basketball team, considering they just played in the National Championship game against Louisville.

But the Wolverines also field a quality baseball club as well.

When you look at the lineup card from the Wolverines meeting with No. 18 Notre Dame on Tuesday, the first two names that come up are Travis Maezes and Jacob Cronenvorth.

This summer there is a possibility that those two names could grace the top of the Blue Sox lineup as well with both Maezes and Cronenvorth deciding to play in the NECBL in 2013.

Maezes, a freshman, has emerged as a solid leadoff hitter for the Wolverines batting .287 with six doubles, three triples while slugging .410 while being 9-for-13 in stolen bases.

Not only has his bat been key, but his ability to play his position has been key as well.

The Ann Arbor native, starting at shortstop for Michigan, has committed only six errors the entire season giving him a .953 fielding percentage turning 16 double plays.

In high school at Pioneer, Maezes was a captain in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and also was named First Team All-Michigan D1 in 2011 and 2012.

In his senior season, Maezes hit .427 with three home runs, 19 RBIs and turned in a slugging percentage of .697.

Now if an opposing pitcher is able to get past Maezes, the lineup of Michigan gets no easier with Cronenworth stepping into the batters box.

Just like Maezes, Cronenworth bats from the left side of the plate and has been a threat at the plate all season batting.339 with eight doubles, two home runs, 23 RBIs and is slugging .461.

But batting is not his only specialty.

Cronenworth, listed as an infielder and pitcher, has been lights out on the mound as well with 10 appearances with a 1.20 ERA and in 15 innings pitches has struck out 15, walked three and allowed two runs to score.

When not out on the mound, but in the field, his glove proves as a weapon too committing only nine errors and turning 16 double plays.

Both Maezes and Cronenworth are set to join the Blue Sox once the 2013 season is over for the Michigan Wolverines.

Holyoke, MA – With teammate Freddy Avis already bound for the northeast in the summer to play with the Blue Sox, three more Stanford players have decided to trade in the California beaches for the vast rivers of Massachusetts.

Right-handed pitchers Daniel Starwalt, Bobby Zarubin and outfielder Jonny Locher are set to join the Blue Sox once Stanford’s 2013 season is completed.

Out of the group Starwalt might just be a freshman but has already made some splashes on the Major League level being drafted in the 37^th round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Starwalt, a El Cajon, California native, finished his high school career extremely decorated including being named a 2012 second team all-San Diego CIF, first team all-Grossmont Hills League and first team all-East County selections.

Starwalt also was named the 2012 Granite Hulls Athlete of the year, helping lead his team to the 2012 Grossmont Hills League title. The right-hander finished his career ranked third in program history in strikeouts.

With Stanford in 2013, Starwalt has been called upon five times so far with a 2-0 record in 11 innings pitched with a 4.09 ERA. In his outings Starwalt has struck out seven and walked only three.

Another highly rated pro prospect for the Cardinal that is set to head to the Blue Sox is Zarubin who has the second lowest ERA on the team in 2013.

Zarubin, a San Diego native, like Starwalt recorded a quality high school career being named the 2012 team MVP at Santa Fe Christian high school.

Following his senior season, Zarubin was named to the Perfect Game first team all-region and was the 2012 Powerade Player of the Year finalist.

Zarubin also earned a spot on the 2012 first team all-state, first team all-region, first team all-conference and first team all-Coastal League teams.

At Stanford, the freshman has lived up to all the accolades and recognition so far going 1-1 in five appearances and three starts with a 1.71 ERA.

The right-hander has thrown 26.1 innings this season, marking the second most on the team right behind 2012 NCBWA Pitcher of the Year Mark Appel.

Opponents are batting just .176 against Zarubin this season and he has also dominated the strike zone, fanning 21 and walking only 11.

Finally, 2012 Rawlings first team all-West Region selection Jonny Locher is bringing his bat to add to the lineup.

In high school, Locher recorded a .762 on-base percentage in 2012 with four home runs and 18 stolen bases in his senior campaign and as a junior batted .630 with 20 swiped bags.

At Stanford, Locher has played in 15 games, started in seven, batting .227 and slugging .364 with three doubles.

The Burien, Washington native has also been effective in the field being only one of five players for Stanford to not have committed an error all season.

With the addition of Starwalt, Zarubin and Locher all headed for the Blue Sox, that runs the total of Stanford players up to four for the 2013 season as they join Freddy Avis.

Holyoke, MA – Notre Dame has proven to be a quality program to pull baseball players from, especially for the Blue Sox.

That trend continuing here in 2013 with freshmen left-handed pitcher Zak Kutsulis and outfielder James Nevant have agreed to head to the northeast to play summer ball.

Kutsulis has already made five appearances this season for Notre Dame turning in six innings of work allowing just two runs while striking out four and walking only one.

Before heading to Notre Dame, the Homer Glen, Illinois native, played at Providence Catholic High School where he was named second-team all-Indiana by the Prep Baseball Report.

In his senior campaign, Kutsulis went 7-2 with a 2.18 ERA with 47 strikeouts and also could swing the bat. Kutsulis finished his final season batting .402 with 30 RBIs and five home runs to cap it off.

Following his senior year he was named second team all-state by the Chicago Tribune, second-team all-area by the Chicago Times and was a 2012 Central Regional Honorable Mention Rawlings All-American by Perfect Game.

When Kutsulis joins the Blue Sox he will not be alone as teammate Nevant will be right there with him.

Nevant has seen some playing time for the Fighting Irish so far playing in eight games, starting in four of those.

The six-foot outfielder joining the Fighting Irish, after a successful high school career at T.C.Roberson High School, where he finished as a four-time all-conference selection.

The Asheville, North Carolina native was named all-Western North Carolina as a senior, was a team captain and selected as the team MVP in his sophomore and senior seasons.

Nevant batted .458 with 27 RBIs and 38 runs scored as a senior and a fun fact is that he has started every varsity baseball game since the seventh grade.

Both Kutsulis and Nevant are set to join the Blue Sox at the conclusion of the 2013 season for the Fighting Irish.