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CARDINALS ADD TO THEIR ROSTER

Hamilton Cardinals’ general manager Dean Dicenzo announced today the signing of five returning players and four new players for the 2017 Intercounty Baseball League season.

Players returning to the team from last season include pitchers Robert Wilson, Chris Lazar, Jake Foden as well as infielder Cal Murphy. Also, returning to the team is outfielder/DH Jake Chiaravelle who last played in the IBL with the Cardinals during the 2015 season. While new players to the team, who will make their IBL debuts this summer, include pitchers Ben Ficht, Dan Weagle, Devlin Jovetic and catcher Slater Frith.

Wilson heads into his second year of IBL action and will be leaned on once again. The young pitcher appeared in 12 games last season and pitched the second most innings (48.1) while striking out 34 batters.

Lazar, like Wilson, enters his second IBL season. Last summer he led the Cardinals in innings pitched (53.2). Nine of his 15 appearances on the mound last season was as a starter. He would rack up 27 strikeouts, which was the second most of the pitching staff.

Foden, who is a pitcher, spent most of last season playing in the outfield. At the plate, he had a .239 batting average in 23 games, driving in nine runs and had his first career IBL home run.

Murphy appeared in 14 games, hitting .204, with three doubles and picking up six RBIs. The 22-year-old, Mississauga native will look to improve his numbers over his sophomore year in the IBL with the Cardinals.

Chiaravelle, a Hamilton product and McMaster graduate, will give the team some muscle at the plate. In 2015, he was limited to just seven games but picked up a double and six RBIs.

Ficht is a 6’2” right handed pitcher from Woodstock, Ontario. He spent last year with the London Bulls of the Southwestern Senior Baseball League and the previous season with the Woodstock Rangers of the Junior Intercounty Baseball League. In 2015, he pitched in 27 innings over six games while striking out 15 batters.

Weagle, a native of Brantford, Ontario, is in his second year of NJCAA baseball with the Garden City College Broncbusters. He previously played minor rep baseball with the Ontario Nationals of the Premier Baseball League of Ontario. This year, his freshman year, he has pitched 24.2 innings over 20 appearances with a 1-1 record and a save.

Jovetic is from Hamilton and spent time with the Ontario Nationals of the PBLO alongside of Weagle. The 6’5” pitcher, a graduate of Sir Allan MacNab secondary, committed to Midland College in Texas in January of 2016.

Frith, a graduate of Sherwood Secondary in Hamilton, is a member of the Garrett Community College Lakers in Maryland where he put up a .282 batting average in 31 games played. While he is a catcher by trade he can also pitch. This past season with the Lakers he appeared on the mound four times, pitching four and a third innings.

The 2017 Cardinals will open the 99th Intercounty Baseball League season tomorrow, Friday May 19th, when they travel to London to face the Majors at Labatt Park starting at 7:35 PM. Two days later the Cardinals will host the Burlington Herd at Bernie Arbour Stadium to open the home portion of the IBL schedule. Prior to the game there will be opening day ceremonies starting at 1:55 PM. The first pitch on Sunday May 21st will go at approximately 2:10 PM.

Fans can now sign up for the all new team newsletter called the Cardinals Chatter. To sign up, head to the Cardinals website at www.iblcardinals.com and fill out the form on the Cardinals Chatter page.

2017 season tickets are now available and can be ordered by emailing the team at IBLCardinals@gmail.com. Tickets for all Hamilton Cardinals home games are available at the Bernie Arbour Stadium Box Office on game day.

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