A pair of University of the Fraser Valley baseball players are going to play summer league ball in Edmonton.
Chilliwack native Liam Campbell and Vernon native Dylan Emmons have signed on with the Edmonton Prospects, a team that plays in the Western Major Baseball League.
The 12 team league is stocked with collegiate players and is separated into two divisions.
Edmonton plays in the six-team Western division with the Brooks Bombers, Okotoks Dawgs, Lethbridge Bulls, Medicine Hat Mavericks and Fort McMurray Giants.
The Eastern division includes the Melville Millionaires, Moose Jaw Miller Express, Yorkton Cardinals, Swift Current 57s, Weyburn Beavers and Regina Red Sox.
The WMBL plays a season that runs from May 31 through July 29.
Cascades coach Shawn Corness feels Edmonton will be a great experience for Campbell and Emmons.
Emmons, a righty-throwing pitcher, went 4-1 in eight regular season appearances with 40 strikeouts, 24 walks and a 4.66 earned-run average.
He started one game in the Canadian Colleges Baseball Conference playoffs, fanning nine Thompson Rivers Wolfpack batters in a complete game 12-5 win.
“He’ll go seven, eight or nine innings each time out and he was our number one guy,” Corness said. “You know he’s going to give you longevity in a game and he’s going to compete for you.”
Campbell, a reliever, pitched 14.1 regular season innings.
He produced a 2.51 ERA with 10 strikeouts.
Campbell also worked behind the plate as a catcher, hitting .333 with four RBIs and two doubles in 18 plate appearances.
“I don’t know whether they’re going to use him behind the plate or out of the bullpen,” Corness said. “He had some relief experiences with us that were some of the best in the league, and if he can control his emotions a little bit I think he will be very successful there.
“This will be a good summer for him to realize he’s got to stay within himself to be successful.
“If he does that I think he’ll be fine.”
Other Cascades heading to the WMBL are Marcus Gregson (Moose Jaw), Colin Kellington (Yorkton) and Jake Gill (Yorkton) while Riley Ens joins the B.C. Senior Men’s League’s Coquitlam Angels.
Abbotsford’s Tre Pankratz will play for the Niagara Power in the New York Collegiate Baseball League.