Sure, the 6-5/230 frame pops right away, but the Jacob Hayes stat line that jumps off the page is the 19 balls that left the yard.
Hayes, from nearby Anacortes, WA, had a stellar spring at Azusa Pacific, hit .332 with 19 home runs and 46 RBIs in 50 games as a redshirt freshman — a true middle of the order power bat for first-year NightOwls Head Coach Cody Andreychuk.
Exciting infielder Louis Dion and speedy outfielder Jaisen Abner have also been signed, along with pitchers that include two Islanders — Carter Chard-Hill of local school VIU, and Courtney product Jakin Rohne of the CCBC’s Victoria Golden Tide.
Announced today by Coach Andreychuk:
OF Jaisen Abner, Seattle U, 5-8/180, R/R, Seattle, WA
IF Louis Dion, Reinhardt U, 5-11/185, L/R, Henderson, NV
RHP Jack Schroeder, Colby CC, 6-1/200, R/R, Cody, WY
IF Jacob Hayes, Azusa Pacific, 6-5/230, R/R, Anacortes, WA
RHP Jaedeyn Edwards, East LA College, 6-3/210, R/R, Gardena, CA
RHP Ricardo ‘Kiki’ Villegas, East LA College, 6-5/210, R/R, Covina, CA
RHP Jakin Rohne, Victoria Golden Tide, 5-10/195, R/R, Courtenay, BC
RHP Carter Chard-Hill, Vancouver Island University, 6-2/215, R/R, Powell River, BC
A lefty hitter who should love Serauxmen Stadium, Louis Dion hit seven home runs as a true freshman and was named first team all conference. He hit .299 and stole seven bases.
Jaisen Abner, a redshirt freshman at Seattle U, hit one home run in limited action and brings a lot of speed to the table for the NightOwls.
Right-hander Jack Schroeder is a workhorse at Colby CC, where he is approaching 50 innings with roughly a strikeout per inning — he’s 3-2 with a 5.27 ERA.
ELAC is sending two more arms to Nanaimo along with returning pitcher Cole Carmichael. Jaedeyn Edwards is a power pitcher who started and relieved for the Huskies with roughly a strikeout per inning, while Kiki Villegas already has 61 innings this spring from 12 appearances, eight of them starts at ELAC.
Rohne, a Parksville Royals product playing for the Victoria Golden Tide in the CCBC, will be spending his second summer as a NightOwl working with esteemed pitching coach Gorm Heimueller. Rohne is used as the closer by the Golden Tide. He has three saves and a 4.09 ERA in seven games.
Chard-Hill, also a second year NightOwl, missed a year due to injury but has assumed a key bullpen role for the VIU Mariners, coached by Nathan Wedgewood. Chard-Hill, with a fastball that sits around 90, has two saves in seven appearances.
