Former Knights Excel in MLB and AAA.

Ex-Knight MVP Chris Stewart Starts Season with Portland Beavers

With the MLB and AAA seasons well underway, several Knights are making an impact at the game's highest level.

Tommy Hanson (1-1, 2.38) of Riverside CC, the 2005 West Coast League Pitcher of the Year, has turned in two quality starts for the Atlanta Braves and won his last start at San Diego. Hanson has struck out 14 over 11 1/3 innings pitched.

Tommy's summer collegiate teammate Bud Norris (1-1, 3.52) of Houston snapped the Astros eight-game season-opening losing streak last week by beating the St. Louis Cardinals on the road. Norris (Cal Poly, '05) struck out 9 and singled home Houston's first run. Bud has struck out 12 over 7 2/3 innings pitched.

Ex-Knight shortstop Robby Hudson (pictured at the 2004 NBC World Series) of Chicago is a Knight again as the White Sox assigned the slick-fielding infielder from Redlands, California to the Charlotte Knights. It's Robby's first experience in AAA. To date, he's hitting .267 with a double (15 at bats).

Hudson won two national championships in college, one with the Aloha Knights in 2004 (NBC World Series title) and the other with the Texas Longhorns in 2005. Robby starred for the Knights in 2003 and 2004 and started two seasons at Riverside CC and two at Texas.

Former Knights' catcher Chris Stewart of San Diego was assigned to AAA Portland after competing for the Padres backup catching position during spring training. It's a homecoming of sorts for Stewart who played for the Knights in 2001 when the team was based in Gresham, Oregon, which is a suburb of Portland.

As a draft-and-follow pick of the Chicago White Sox that summer, Stewart raised his stock significantly by showcasing his above average defensive skills and showing he could handle wood hitting .342 with 5 home runs and 36 RBI to earn Pacific International League MVP honors.

The frosh from Riverside CC signed following his dream season with the Knights and would make his debut in the big leagues with the White Sox in 2006 and appear with Texas and the New York Yankees in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Chris is hitting .308 with two doubles (13 at bats) for the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League.

Other Knights that were assigned to AAA rosters include utilty man Bobby Scales (Michigan, '97) with the Iowa Cubs, first baseman Andy Jenkins (Oregon State, '02-04) with the Oklahoma City RedHawks and catcher Ben Johnson (Washington, '02) with the Nashville Sounds.

Both Scales and Jenkins started out swinging hot bats as Scales is hitting .469 with 7 doubles and 8 RBI (32 at bats) and Jenks is hitting .344 (32 at bats).

Scales appeared in the big leagues last summer with the Cubs.

Ex-Knights ace Marc Rzepczynski (UC Riverside, '06) started the season on the Toronto Blue Jays' 15-day disabled list.

Three former Knights were signed this off-season to play for the Oakland County Cruisers of the Frontier League (independent pro baseball) including pitcher Brad Reid (Bellevue CC, '07), first baseman/catcher Ian Bridges (Sonoma State, '08) and pitcher Anthony Carrillo (Long Beach State, '08).

Reid pitched the last two seasons in the Seattle Mariners organization. This will be Bridges' and Carrillo's pro debuts.

Oakland County opens up on the road May 21 vs. the Washington Wild Things.