NEWS

The Woodstock RiverBandits start their 11th season with May 30 against the Covington Lumberjacks. Head coach Philip Betterly (Methodist ’09) returns for his third season after leading the team to the semi-final play-offs in 2012 and 2013.

“We are really excited for the upcoming season,” said Bandits president Robert W. Bowman, Jr. “The players will arrive May 26 and we’ll start practicing on May 27. After a long winter, we are ready for baseball.”

The RiverBandits have a solid bullpen, headlined by Marietta College rising junior Christian Herstine (Beaver, Pa.). Herstine leads the top-ranked Pioneers (28-12 in their conference) into the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional this week. In their opening game Wednesday—a 14-2 rout of Penn State- Berks—Herstine allowed four hits and two runs, while striking nine over seven innings. He recently added All-MidEast Region Pitcher of the Year honors to his year-end awards, which also include a first-team all-conference and the Kent Tekulve Pitcher of the Year Award, an annual conference award in honor of the former Pirates pitcher and Marietta alumnus.

Also on the roster are a pair of right-handed relievers from Binghamton University, senior Greg Ostner (New Milford, Ct.) and junior Jake Cryts (Schuylkill Haven, Pa.). Ostner is returning to the RiverBandits for a second summer after leading the Bearcats in saves. Cryts was a reliable starter, making 13 appearances and holding opposing batters to a .229 percentage, the lowest on the Binghamton bullpen.

“I'm looking forward to another competitive summer with the Riverbandits,” said Ostner “Coach Betterly knows how to put together a winning squad game by game and provides an enjoyable clubhouse to compete in every day.”

Ostner added that he’s also looking forward to enjoying another summer with his host family—“a big factor in my decision to return,” he says—as well as “good baseball, great communities, fishing opportunities, and good times all around.”

Other notable players include junior catcher Dave Hoffman (Siena College/Niskayuna, N.Y.); senior infielder Andy Moore (Elon/Queen Creek, Az.); and senior Aaron Pigna (Ave Maria University/Miami, Fl.). Hoffman hit .271 and earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors. Moore was a regular starter at shortstop for the Elon Phoenix, hitting .268. Pigna, a shortstop, hit .346 on the season.

Betterly is in his first season as an assistant coach at Shenandoah University, where he works with pitchers and catchers, and assists in player recruitment. Previous collegiate summer league experience includes a season as an assistant coach for the Florence Red Wolves in the Coastal Plain League in 2011 and as an assistant coach for the New Market Rebels in 2010.

Veteran coach Donn Foltz, who was on the RiverBandits staff from the inaugural 2004 season through 2010, returns. Foltz has been head baseball coach at Central High School in Woodstock for the past 14 seasons. He is joined by Andrew Montague (VMI ’13), head coach at Massanutten Military Academy.

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