AIGLES ANNOUNCE RETURN OF RHP TUCKER SMITH
After the return of two offensive guns, Louis-Philippe Pelletier and Juan Kelly, manager Matthew Rusch announces the return of a first pitcher for the 2023 season! Indeed, the right-hander Tucker Smith will settle in Trois-Rivières for the 2023 season, after having shone with the Aigles at the end of the campaign last year!
The big boss of the Birds is delighted to count on the return of Smith, who proved to be a great revelation upon his arrival in August 2022. In 32.1 innings of work, he had maintained an excellent ERA of 2.23 in addition to recording 27 strikeouts. The 25-year-old American also had three wins and a save in nine appearances, including three starts, on the mound.
"Tucker was very good to us when he came over from Lincoln. He was hungry for victories and wanted to demonstrate his full potential. And that's exactly what he did by throwing a lot of catches. In addition, he is working very hard this winter playing in Australia," said Rusch.
"He has proven that he can be dominant in this league. We expect him to be the 2nd or 3rd starter in our rotation. His return certainly makes the Aigles a better team, "adds the manager.
Smith spent the 2022-23 off-season with the Perth Heat of the Australian Baseball League. A graudate of Georgia Southwestern State University, Smith was selected co-Pitcher of the Year for the Peach Belt Conference in 2021. Smith earned NCAA Division II National Pitcher of the Week honors for the week ending March 14, 2021 from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) after throwing a no-hitter at Claflin University. During his time at Georgia Southwestern, Smith was named All-Peach Belt Conference twice along with being an American Baseball Coaches Association Second Team All-American.
In addition, the Aigles released pitcher Mark Tindall. As for Kyle Thomas, he will not be back in Trois-Rivières since he has opted to retire.
The Aigles' training camp will get under way towards the end of April for the franchise's second season in the Frontier League. The first game is scheduled for May 12 as the Aigles visit the Tri-City ValleyCats. Then, the home opener will take place on May 23 when the Lake Erie Crushers will be at Stade Quillorama.
