After one year in the second division the Neuenburg Atomics are back in Germany’s Baseball-Bundesliga. On Monday they announced the acquisition of four new players. Andrea Girasole, Patrick Carlson, Tony Ronco and Keenan Pipes add pitching depth to the roster, which mainly is based on the team from last year.
Girasole is a 23-year-old right-hander who was born in Rimini, Italy and also has a German and Swiss passport. The groundball pitcher with good control already has played in Milan, Cupra and Riccione in the Serie B and A2 in Italy, one season in Australia and with the Swiss Bern Cardinals at the end of last year. Since 2007 he also is a member of the Swiss national team.
Carlson is a 25-year-old French national team player, who played for the German club Saarlouis Hornets the past two seasons. Between 2000 and 2007 he was a member of the French club Paris UC. The left-hander, who also can play first base and the outfield, had a 3-3 record with an ERA of 4.45 in 13 games last season (5 starts), striking out 39 in 60 2/3 innings (18 walks).
Ronco is a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher from the USA. He is currently attending Southern Wesleyan University in South Carolina after transferring from Huntingdon College in Alabama. Pipes is a 21-year-old German left-handed outfielder/pitcher, who spent the past two years on an American college. He last played for the Atomics during the 2007 season, when he batted .333/.490/.493 and had an ERA of 3.82 in 68 1/3 innings in second-division ball in Germany.
The team of head coach Rob Piscatelli is going to play exhibition games against the Swiss clubs Therwil Flyers (doubleheader on March 14) and the Bern Cardinals (March 21), and against the Saarlouis Hornets (March 20) before holding a training camp in Lodi, Italy (March 24-28). Neuenburg, which also will host European Championship games in July, opens the new season in the Baseball-Bundesliga at home versus the Mainz Athletics.
Roster Neuenburg Atomics:
- Rob Piscatelli
- Stefan Kolbe
- Zack Martin
- Moritz von der Brelie
- Bernardo Marino
- Jeremy Schmidt
- Lars Giemsa
- Kim Müller
- Michael Niemann
- Luc Millet
- Keenan Pipes
- Alex Aucoin
- Janos Daroczi
- Pat Carlson
- Tony Ronco
- Andrea Girasole
Hajrá Gida!