DANS RANK AMONG NATIONS LEADERS

BallparkBiz.com has released the top 50 summer collegiate teams ranked by average attendance per game. Thanks to our great fans and sponsors, the Danville Dans lead the CICL and rank #7 nationwide. Other teams in the league rank #18 (Springfield) and #31 (Quincy).

DANS RUIZ CALLED UP BY TWINS

Former Danville Dan Randy Ruiz (1999) was called up by the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 1 from Triple-A Rochester making him the 14th major league player in the Dans 19 year history. The Bellevue University player hit .333 for the Dans, joining the team mid-way through the season. Bill and Pat Westphal were his host family. Randy is the 3rd major league player they have hosted. He joins Kurt Ainsworth and Kevin Sefcik.

Ruiz, as of Wednesday, Aug. 27, was batting .318 with one home run and six RBIs for the Twins. He hit his first major league home run on Aug. 26.

Bryce Stowell Signs With Cleveland Indians

Right-hander Bryce Stowell (La Habra, CA) has signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians.

While with the Dans (2006) the Pepperdine pitcher was 5-1 with a 1.52 ERA. He struck out 69 and walked 13, allowing only 9 earned runs in 53.1 innings pitched.

Stowell will begin his professional career with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

DANS DIAMOND NOTES

Baseball America has chosen former Dan Van Pope (2003- Ol' Miss) the Southern League's (Mississippi Braves, AA Atlanta) Best Defensive Third Baseman. The Golden's were Van's Host Family

The Tigers promoted shortstop Danny Worth (Dans 2005-Pepperdine)from Double-A Erie to Triple-A Toledo in late July. Danny lived with the O'Shaughnessy's.

2008 Dan, John Flanagan, has been assigned to the Burlington Royals in the Rookie Applalachian League. He is currently sporting a 2.95 ERA and has 40 K's & 18 BB. John has appeared in 11 games.

DANS END YEAR WITH LEAGUE HONORS

TOURNAMENT HONOR: The Second Half Champion Danville Dans fell in the Championship game of the post-season tournament last night to Springfield in a 5-2 contest. The Dans Matt Bywater was named Pitcher of the Tournament with a 1 hit, 8 inning effort in game 2 of the 3 game series, which the Dans won 2-0. In striking out 8, Bywater did not allow a runner to reach second base. Matt is an incoming sophomore at Pepperdine University this fall.

POST SEASON AWARDS: The CICL has released selections for league Post-Season Awards today. Danville Dan, Dan Kaczrowski, was named Mike Schmidt Player of the Year. Dan finished the regular season batting .402 and broke an all time (33 year) record for hits in a single season with 79.

Righthanded pitcher, Tyler Hess, from Alamo, CA, was named the CICL's Top Pro Prospect. An incoming sophomore this fall at Pepperdine, the 6'5", 235# Hess was a formidable force coming out of the pen for the Dans this season.

Dans Manager Pete Paciorek was named CICL Coach of the Year, leading the team to a 2nd half championship after an 11-17 1st half and a 1-3 start in the 2nd half. This is the 2nd year Paciorek has coached the Dans. After 9 years in pro ball, Pete earned his masters degree from Cal State LA where he went on to coach. The San Gabriel, CA native is married to his high-school sweetheart Sara (Snyder).

DANS DAN BREAKS ALL-TIME CICL RECORD

Danville Dan, Dan Kaczrowski, has had his share of CICL honors this year, winning Player of both the 1st and 2nd halves. The senior to be (Hamline University) added a little more to his treasure chest this weekend when, during the last game of the regular season, he collected a hit to break the 33 year old CICL record for hits in a season, setting the new mark at 78. Denny Mantick, who played for the Peoria Pacers, set the former record at 77 in 1975.

The right handed 2nd baseman is expected to be a strong candidate for CICL Player of the Year, finishing the regular season batting .402, and leading in on base percentage with .463. Kaczrowski is also on the leader board in runs scored, runs batted in, doubles, triples, total bases, and stolen bases. Dan is from St. Anthony, Minnesota and is the son of Tom & Mary Kaczrowski. He is coached at Hamline, by Jason Verdugo.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:

The Dans will be in Springfield Tuesday night the 12th for the first game of a best of 3 post season tournament.

The Dans will be home on Wednesday for a 6:30 PM start. As this is a CICL tournament, not a Dans tournament, therefore season tickets cannot be accepted. Game costs, however, remain the same: $5 for adults, $3 for children under 12, free admission to toddlers and anyone under 12 wearing a team hat or jersey of a team on which they participate.

On Thursday, if teams split the 1st two games of the series, play will return to Springfield for the tournament's championship game.

DANS SWEEP 2ND HALF HONORS

From the CICL website - The Player of the Second Half of the 2008 CICL season is the same player that earned the first half award, Danville Dans second baseman Dan Kaczrowski. In the second half, Kaczrowksi led the league in batting at .375 (39-104), led in runs with 24, led in hits with 39, was 2nd in total bases with 48, 2nd in on-base percentage at .445, 5th in slugging at .462, was 2nd in stolen bases with 9 and was 8th in RBI with 15 despite batting leadoff or 2nd in most of the games of the second half. The right-handed hitting second baseman finished the regular season leading the league in batting at .402, leading in hits with 78 (a new league record, with at least 2 tournament games left to play) and leading in on-base percentage at .463. Dan is from St. Anthony, Minnesota, and will be a senior this fall at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Pitcher of the Second Half for 2008 is Danville Dans right-hander Chris Licon. In the second half, Licon was 4-0 with an impressive 0.30 ERA to lead the league in both categories. He was 2nd in the league in innings with 30, 2nd in batting average-against at .189 and was 2nd in strikeouts with 26. Licon joined the Dans in late June just before the start of the second half. He is from Pomona, California, and will be a sophomore this fall at Orange Coast Community College.

GRIFFIN COMPLETES USA BASEBALL SEASON

A.J.Griffin (University of San Diego) spent the 2008 Season playing on a USA Baseball National Team that finished the season with an amazing 24-0 record.

The former Danville Dan (2007)sported an ERA of 1.62 in a relief role striking out 18 and walking 5. Among others, A.J. made appearances in games against Chinese Taipei, Netherlands Antilles, the Czech Republic, and Canada.

A.J. returns as a junior to the University of San Diego this fall.

HOST FAMILIES GIVEN A BIG THANKS!!

The Danville Dans owe a big thank you to Lisa Smith, our housing chairman, and the 26 host families opening their homes to players this summer. Their support and participation make the program possible and help make it known as one of the best in the country. Last weekend, the host families enjoyed a picnic at Kennekuk County Park with their players as we head into the final few games of the season. On behalf of the players, the volunteers, and the community, THANKS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHOSE NIGHT AT THE BALLPARK?

The Dans end up the 2008 regular season this week on Friday August 8 when they face the Quincy Gems at 6:30 pm in a game sponsored by WDAN, Acton & Snyder, Thrivent Financial, the City of Danville, Big Four, and Built 2 Last Construction. We also welcome our guests that night, the Danville Soccer Association and Sygma Corporation.

The night will be highlighted with the appearance of the Indianapolis Colts Cheerleaders, courtesy of WDAN (Neuhoff Communications Danville). The festivities will begin at 5:30 PM with Colts in Motion open to the public.

The CICL tournament will begin on the 12th of August at Springfield, winner of the 1st half. Game 2, on Weds. the 13th, will be at the home of the 2nd half winner. The Dans are currently in first place, by two games, with 6 games to go.