Locals Provide Excitement for Tornado
By:  Jay Bernhardt

Johnson City, Tenn. (June 2, 2008) --- Eight players from the tri-cities area will be playing for the Tennessee Tornado this season.  Five of which play their home games in Johnson City on a regular basis.  Bart Roark is the only returning player on the Tornado this season.  Roark plays for Coach Tony Skole at East Tennessee State University, whereas Brandon Murphy, Spencer Street, Michael Dillow, and Frank Newcomb all play at Milligan College.  The other locals consist of Logan Bowers from Bluff City, Zack Howell from Johnson City, and Aaron Hudgins from Kingsport.  Bowers plays at Walters State, Hudgins plays at Tusculum, and Howell plays at Carson Newman.   

The Tornado play in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League, which is a wooden bat league that consists of seven teams.  The Tornado are coming off of a 20-22 season, which placed them in fifth place during the 2007 season.  Cardinal Park has been the home field of the Tornado for the past two years under the ownership of Wiley and Caroline Roark.  The Tornado play a 42 game schedule during the months of June and July.  The games are split down the middle, with half at home and half on the road.   

Head Coach Philip Al-Mateen is at the helm of the Tornado for the start of the 2008 season.  Al-Mateen played collegiate baseball at Voorhees College in Denmark, S.C.  Al-Mateen went on to play professional baseball for four years in the Anaheim Angels organization.  He is currently working at East Tennessee State University in the athletic department as the Director of Business Operations.  Al-Mateen is joined by Dustin Morrow, Baker DeCamp, and Chris Gordon.  Morrow will be the infield coach for the Tornado.  Morrow is a recent graduate of Tusculum College.  DeCamp will be the outfield coach, whereas Gordon will be the pitching coach.  Both DeCamp and Gordon played baseball at Milligan College. 

“I am very enthusiastic about this team,” said Al-Mateen.  “We have a great mixture of speed and power.  Our pitching staff will be strong because of the their demeanor, their character, and their ability.  We hope to display an exciting brand of baseball when we take the field.  We will run, set the tone early, and dictate the game.” 

The Tornado recruits players across the country from different collegiate baseball teams.  The Tornado boasts a strong base as they have nine NCAA Division I players, seven NAIA players, six NCAA Division II players, and six NJCAA players.

“Mr. Roark and I are excited about our prospects this year,” commented General Manager Tom Reece.  “We feel we have players who display outstanding character on and off the field, and also have tremendous baseball talent.  I am excited about this season and we are fortunate to have Coach Al-Mateen and his staff to work with and guide these young men.”

The Tornado opens the season on the road against the Carolina Thunder on Tuesday, June 3.  The home opener is scheduled against the Carolina Chaos for Friday, June 6, at Cardinal Park.  The double-header is set to start at 5 p.m.              

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