Kyle Bonicki ended his first professional baseball season with a championship.
The former Chase Collegiate and Clark University standout helped the Bakersfield Train Robbers capture the Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs title earlier this month. Bakersfield knocked off the Alpine Cowboys in three games in the championship series.
Bonicki played hero in the first game, an 18-12 Bakersfield win, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored and five RBI. His three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning gave the Train Robbers a 14-12 lead. Bakersfield led 4-0 after a half inning, but Alpine stormed back with seven runs in the bottom of the second to go ahead 7-4. The Cowboys still led 12-9 entering the seventh inning, but the Train Robbers struck for five runs in the frame, which was punctuated by the Bonicki blast.
Bonicki was 2-for-4 with a run scored and RBI in a 7-4 loss in Game 2. He didn’t get a hit in Game 3, but was hit by a pitch and scored a run in the title-clinching 7-4 victory.
Bakersfield began the Pacific Division side of the playoff bracket with a 7-6 win over the California City Whiptails on July 27. Bonicki was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.
The Train Robbers eliminated the Whiptails 10-9 in the next game on July 28, and Bonicki played a big role. He was 4-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI. Bakersfield had to overcome a 9-0 deficit, but did so in one big burst. The Train Robbers scored a shocking nine runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game. Bonicki played a direct role in three of the nine runs.
Bonicki’s RBI single in his first at bat of the eighth inning scored Sonny Cortes and got Bakersfield on the board at 9-1. When Bonicki came around to score on a Peter Yorgen hit by pitch, the Train Robbers trailed 9-3.
Bonicki returned to the plate with runners on first and second and two outs in the inning. He came through again, driving Chuck Rocker home to tie the game at 9-9. Daryl Doneson scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth for the walk-off win.
Bonicki continued to rake in the next round against the Tucson Saguaros. The Train Robbers won 10-9 in the first game, and Bonicki went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run and two RBI. His two-run home run in the top of the second inning gave Bakersfield an early 2-0 lead.
Bonicki was 1-for-4 with an RBI in a 6-4 Bakersfield win over Tucson in the second game. He was 14-for-31 (.452) in seven postseason games with nine runs scored, two home runs and 10 RBI.
Manny Cruz
Cruz is back on the baseball diamond.
Cruz returned to the Frontier League and played his first game with the Joliet (Illinois) Slammers on Aug. 1. After a slow start, Cruz had two hits apiece in Joliet games played on Aug. 5 and 7. He had been a member of the Evansville Otters, then was traded to the Slammers on July 31 to complete a previous trade, according to the Frontier League website.
Cruz had been placed on the suspended list by the Otters on July 1. He played in 38 games for Evansville and hit .262 with a home run, 15 RBI and 18 runs scored. Being on the suspended list means a player is inactive but remains under team control. There are several reasons why a player can be placed on the suspended list. None were listed for Cruz on the team or Frontier websites.
Joliet traded pitcher Spencer Medick to Evansville on June 21 for a player to be named later. That player turned out to be Cruz, a former high school standout at Wolcott and Wilby. The Slammers signed Cruz on July 31, the same day they acquired him from the Otters.
Cruz has played in 10 games for Joliet since be acquired. He is hitting .176 in 34 at bats with six hits, five runs scored, two RBI and eight walks.
Connor Fitzsimons
The former Bristol Eastern standout found himself on the tough side of the business of baseball on Aug. 2, when he was assigned to the Orem (Utah) Owlz of the Rookie level Pioneer League.
Fitzsimons had been with the Burlington (Iowa) Bees, a Class A full-season affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels before being demoted. He hit .271 in 144 at bats with four home runs, 16 RBI and 22 runs scored over 42 games. Strikeouts were an issue for Fitzsimons, who fanned 54 times.
Fitzsimons went 2-for-3 with a run scored in his Orem debut against the Ogden Raptors on Aug. 2. In just his third game with the Owlz on Aug. 4, Fitzsimons hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs overall in a 15-12, 12-inning victory over the Raptors.
Fitzsimons has played in 13 games for Orem and is hitting .245 over 49 at bats. He has scored seven runs, driven in 10 runs, walked six times and struck out 16 times.
