Adrian, MI -- The Lake Erie Monarchs signed three Nittany Lions from Penn State this past week.

Clark	Ignas	Searer

Leading the Pennsylvania group, returnee Ryan Clark played in 42 games for the Monarchs in 2009. Clark, a Westerville, Ohio native went to St. Francis DeSales High School where he also shined on the gridiron, earning special mention on the All-Ohio team. Clark is a sophomore outfielder for Penn State.     

Ryan Ignas has signed on to pitch for the Monarchs. Ignas, a sophomore right handed pitcher, played at Lansdale Catholic High School in North Wales, Pennsylvania.  He threw 39 innings for Penn State in 2009 compiling a 5-1 record in 22 appearances.

Kolbrin Vitek Photo Credit: Tim Corbey --(view larger image)

Continuing with post-season awards, Monarchs second baseman Kolbrin Vitek (Ball State) was named the Great Lakes League Player of the Year after winning the triple crown by leading the league in batting average (.400), home runs (6), and RBIs (38). Vitek also led the league in hits (54), doubles (16), and was second in triples (6).

General Manager Jim DeSana had this to say on Vitek’s great season: “Kolbrin really produced at the plate this summer. I can't remember anyone dominating this many offensive categories in a 36 game Great Lakes League Season.” Good praise for someone who’s played the majority of the season out of his normal position. 

To make things more impressive, Vitek won the award at second base. He played third base for Ball State to utilize his strong arm. This brings us to Vitek being named the top position player prospect in the Great Lakes League. Apart from his spectacular hitting abilities, Vitek also can be utilized as a pitcher. He threw 3 innings in relief this year for the Monarchs, displaying a low 90s fastball. That type of arm strength makes him a valuable commodity at third base and he has shown the power to be a solid corner infield prospect for the majors.  

Thus concludes perhaps the greatest season in Monarchs history after winning the triple crown, player of the year, top prospect, and being named the All-Star game MVP.

Last week, three Monarchs received the honor of being named to the All-Great Lakes League Team: 2B Kolbrin Vitek, SS Kevin Gillespie, and 1B Matt Dittman. Vitek was named to the first team, while Gillespie and Dittman were named to the second team.

Vitek hit at an impressive clip of .400 with 6 home runs and 38 RBI, leading the Great Lakes League in all 3 categories. He added 16 doubles, 6 triples and 10 steals.

Gillespie, the Monarchs leadoff hitter for most of the season, hit .331 and scored 24 runs. He also led the team in steals with 12 on the season. Gillespie also held the honor of being hit by more pitches than any other player for the Monarchs. He was pegged 10 times, more than twice as many as any other player on the team.

Matt Dittman hit .305 for the Monarchs and led all infielders with a .991 fielding percentage.  

Pitcher Chris Boertje Photo Credit: Tim Corbey --(view larger image)

The Monarchs ended the Great Lakes season with a 9-7 loss to the Licking CountySettlers.  It was Veterans appreciation day at Don Edwards Stadium and the Monarchs had their own veteran on the mound in starter Chris Boertje. Boertje served a 9 month tour of duty in Iraq with the U.S. Army. Boertje pitches for Siena Heights Universityin Adrian, Michigan and missed his entire Sophomore year while serving his tour of Iraqin 2008. 

The Monarchs battled the entire game and did not show any signs of giving up despite the fact that they were out of the running for a GLL Playoff spot.  Kolbrin Vitek continued his scorched earth policy by launching a rocket over the left field wall in his first at bat giving him a total of 6 for the Great Lakes League home run title.Kevin Gillespie was 2-5 on the day and Matt Dittman was 2-3.  Zach Lammers (University of Dayton/Brookville, OH) was 3-5 for the Monarchs. Cody Grice alsohad an impressive double that  hit the left center fence. Boertje took the loss on the mound giving up 8 earned runs in 4 innings. Tim Corbey and Brian Koehl each threwtwo innings of relief. 

Many of the Monarchs age 20 and under players will participate in the AAABA WorldSeries in Johnstown, Pennsylvania starting August 10th.  The team will be lead by outfielders Cody Grice, and Nate Sarkissian, infielders Ricky Lizcano and Mike Frigo along with catcher Jon Ponte. The pitching staff will include pitchers, Pat Ludwig, Dan Bream, Andrew Parker, Eric Vaughan and Ryan Domschot who all contributed valuable innings in Great Lakes League play.