Paderborn Untouchables manager Stefan Fechtig spent a few days at the University of Portland during the winter to look over the shoulder of the coaches there. He also was able to recruit two new players for the German Baseball-Bundesliga club. Daniel Meier (right) and Nik Kosach (left) already arrived last weekend and joined the team in a 9-0 preseason shutout over the Solingen Alligators.
The 24-year-old Meier will play at third base and is going to pitch for the U’s this year. He played four seasons in Portland until he got selected by the Houston Astros in the 2008 amateur draft. He made his professional debut for the Astros affiliated in the NY-Penn League
in the same year, but got released at the beginning of last season. He then tried his luck with the Kalamazoo Kings of the Frontier League, but only took the mound for 1 1/3 innings.
Kosach is a 26-year-old catcher who played four years for the University of Portland between 2003 and 2006. After graduating he worked as a volunteer catching instructor at St. Mary’s in Moraga, California. He replaces Mike Reed behind the plate in Paderborn, who has left as well as Chris Balatico and Gavin Ng. The Untouchables open the 2010 season next Monday in Cologne against the Cardinals.
Photo: © Gregor Eisenhuth www.eisenhuth-photographie.de