Thomson Merchants sign three
January 30, 2007
Thomson, IL
The Thomson Merchants are pleased and excited to announce that three more players have officially signed for the 2007 season. Steven Mason, Casey Eden and Aaron Vail have all signaled there intentions to join the Merchants, who only recently announced the signing of Rory Miller and Bret Percy.
Eden, a New Zealand native, will be returning for his 2nd year with the Merchants, who have already secured a birth in the ISC worlds in Kitchener. Eden was the Merchants top hitter last year with a batting average above 0.400 and will again be expected to provided a real offensive threat to opposition teams. We will be looking to use Casey primarily in the catching role, but also as a general utility.
Manson is a hard throwing pitcher from the Wellington area of New Zealand. Steven has received many representative honors in New Zealand softball, in addition to having gained considerable experience through playing in both Europe and America in recent seasons. Steven and Rory will be expected to provide a double pitching threat that was severely missed last year. Steven is also an excellent hitter and will be used in a utility role when not on the mound.
Vail is a 23 year old Wisconsin local who played for Happy Hollow of EauClaire in 05 and Dolan and Murphy in 06. Aaron missed much of last year with a hamstring injury but managed to return for the NAFA world series where he was a valuable member of the 2nd place Aurora Tiger Club. Aaron is also the assistant coach of the Woman's softball program at Hamiline University in St Paul, Minnesota . Aarons defensive ability will see him spending time in a variety of positions including catcher and the middle infield.
The Merchants are now close to being able to confirm there full schedule and roster for 2007 but hope to make some more roster announcements before the season starts. Already we are confident that both our defense and offense are substantial upgrades on 2006, and this combined with the experience gained in our first full season of elite fast pitch softball should serve us well in the tournaments we are confirmed to play. At this stage this includes the Walcott Memorial, DSM Hall of Fame, Eau Claire Invitational, Grafmeier, Boys of Summer, AFSA Classic, Farm, ASA Major and ISC World Tournament.
Scott Glazier
s.glazier@mchsi.com
