EVANSVILLE’S RYAN LONG AND SCHAUMBURG’S GUNNAR KINES TAKES HOME WEEKLY AWARDS
Evansville Otters’ Ryan Long and Schaumburg Boomers’ Gunnar Kines win this week’s Player and Pitcher of the Week Awards, as chosen by Pointstreak, the official statistical provider of the Frontier League and the Independent Professional Baseball Federation.
Long continues his All-Star caliber season as he hits .500 for the week going 8-16. Long finished the week driving in eight runs in five games, as well as hitting two home runs, three doubles and accumulating a 1.589 OPS for the week. With another strong week, Long sees himself leading the league in with 33 RBI on the season and fourth in OPS at .933.
The 25 year old begins his third season with Evansville, as he joined the Otters straight out of Texas Tech in 2017. The Crandall, Texas native is coming off a strong season in his first year as the full time third baseman after splitting time between third and the outfield the past two years. In 2018 Long hit .292 with 12 homeruns and 55 runs batted in.
Schaumburg wins a second Pitcher of the Week as their pitcheraward this season after Gunnar Kines tossed the Boomers’ second complete-game shutout of 2019. Kines shut out the Joliet Slammers on Wednesday, holding the Slammers to only two singles while not issuing any walks and striking out eight. Aaron Rozek previously won Pitcher of the Week for the period ending May 26.
A Myrtle Beach, South Carolina native, Kines in in his fourth season with the Boomers after he joined the team in 2016. Kines was drafted in 2015 in the 36thround by the Miami Marlins out of Mount Olive College in North Carolina before coming to the Frontier League. The Schaumburg starter keeps up a strong 2019 campaign as he sees his record even at 2-2 with the win Wednesday. In 2019 Kines has posted a 3.34 in 32.1 innings with 29 strikeouts and only six walks, giving him a sub 1.00 WHIP.
Pointstreak provides the league with its statistical software and in game scoring applications. They aim to deliver “fast scores and cool stats to players, parents, fans, scouts and media.” For more information on Pointstreak products visit them at www.poinstreaksolutions.com or www.pointstreak.com.
The Frontier League is entering its 27th season in 2019 and features ten teams stretching from Pennsylvania to Missouri and from Kentucky to the Great Lakes. The Frontier League annually advances the most players to MLB organizations of any of the independent leagues, and 37 former Frontier League players have played in the Major Leagues.