RGV Capsules: Bees to play ninth season in CHL
HIDALGO — Joe Sakulenzki and the city of Hidalgo are on the verge of combining to make the biggest save in Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees history.
Sakulenzki and his partners have agreed to operate the Killer Bees in the Central Hockey League next season after obtaining an improved lease at State Farm Arena. The agreement is pending the expected approval by Sakulenzki’s lawyers, which would clear the way for the Killer Bees to play a ninth season in the CHL.
Without this agreement, the Killer Bees would have gone dormant or folded.
The team has called a news conference for 11 a.m. today inside the VIP lounge at State Farm Arena to discuss the future of the franchise.
The new terms of the lease will be made available when they are finalized by Sakulenzki’s lawyers. The length of the lease, which has two more years remaining, will not be changed.
“They have bent over backwards to help us make this team work for the next few years,” Sakulenzki said of city manager Joe Vera and arena general manager Eric Blockie.
To help the team move forward, Sakulenzki has brought in former general manager Trey Medlock and his company Winn 4 Sports as consultants to aid in reorganizing the franchise. Dan Belisle, who served as GM last season, is not expected to remain with the team.
Medlock, who stressed he is not the GM, said he and his company will aid in putting together the front office staff and pushing season ticket sales and corporate sponsorships. He will also assist in finding a head coach to replace Chris Brooks, who departed last month for the same job at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
“There’s a lot of work that has to be done to make this franchise successful again,” Medlock said.
Sakulenzki and his partners owned the team from its birth in 2003 until 2006 before selling to Richard Troy Nelson. Sakulenzki’s group sued Nelson in January alleging Nelson owed $2.1 million stemming from the sale. Nelson countersued in March, alleging Sakulenzki’s group misrepresented the financial shape of the Killer Bees and now-defunct Dorados.
Both lawsuits, pending agreement to the revised lease by Sakulenzki’s lawyers, will be dropped.
In February, Nelson offered the franchise back to Sakulenzki, who two weeks ago said he wouldn’t operate the team unless the city improved the Bees’ lease at State Farm Arena. That spurred intensified negotiations between Sakulenzki and the city, which are likely to culminate in another season of Killer Bees hockey.
Not only is that welcome for the Valley’s hockey fans, but for State Farm Arena’s bottom line. Last month, a bond issue that would have saved taxpayers $593,000 on the arena’s debt was voted down.
Losing the Killer Bees, who played 35 home games last season at the arena plus staged numerous practices, would have been another blow to the city.
“All of our tenants are important,” Vera said. “Most definitely, it is important to have (the Killer Bees) be there and continue to be a part of our whole mix or sporting events.”
Sakulenzki said he is going to give it two years running the team, which is when the Killer Bees’ CHL license and arena lease is up. By then, he hopes the franchise is set up for a long and prosperous future.
“I hope it stays there for another 10 years after that,” Sakulenzki said.
Brian Sandalow covers the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4436 or via e-mail at bsandalow@themonitor.com.
Independent Baseball
WhiteWings' winning streak snapped
HARLINGEN – the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings’ five-game winning streak came to an end with a 5-2 loss to the San Angelo Colts on Wednesday at Harlingen Field.
The Colts (7-7) made WhiteWings (10-4) starter Alexander Concepcion (2-1) work hard right away, as six of the first eight batters reached base in some form, including three walks, and one of the outs came on a sacrifice fly. The Colts put runners at second and third with one out and Clay Calfee fouled of five pitched before hitting an RBI single on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. Jon Edwards followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
The WhiteWings got one of those runs back against Gorman Romero (2-0) in the the second. With one out, Wesley Dimitt tripled and scored on a groundout by Edgar Trejo.
Ronnie Gaines hit a two-run home run in the fourth to give the Colts a 4-1 lead.
Brandon Decker hit a one-out double in the bottom of the fifth and Jonathan Fernandez followed with an RBI single to make it 4-2.
The Colts loaded the bases on walks against Drew Dowl with one out in the sixth. Clay Calfee hit into an RBI fielder’s choice to make it 5-2.
Sean Kramer pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.
The WhiteWings and Colts play the third and four games of this eight-game series with a doubleheader of seven-inning games at 6:05 p.m. Thursday. Right-handers Eric Blackwell (2-0, 0.75) and Luis Chirinos (0-0, 0.00) are expected to face right-handers Brian Henschel (1-2, 6.38) and Steve MacFarland (0-1, 10.61). Gates open at 5:05.
-- WhiteWings Services
Roadrunners outlast Thunder in extra innings
EDINBURG - The Edinburg Roadrunners outlasted the McAllen Thunder for a 5-4 victory in 12 innings Wednesday night at Edinburg Baseball Stadium
The Roadrunners (5-10) got on the board in the first. Nick Aranda got on with a walk and then moved to second on a balk. After Gabe Memmert hit an infield single, Aranda came into score on an RBI groundout by Wellington Dotel to give Edinburg the 1-0 lead.
The Thunder (7-8) tied things at 1 in the third when a fielding error allowed Yordanys Perez to score from third. Two more errors in the top of the fourth set the table for Mike Goss’s two-run double that gave McAllen the 3-1 lead.
R.J. Harris singled to open the 'Runners' half of the fifth, and then Brandon Wilkerson followed with an RBI triple that allowed Harris to score. Edinburg tied the game in the sixth with an RBI single by C.J. Beatty that allowed Dotel making it a 3-3 ball game.
After McAllen took the lead on an RBI grounduut by Dan Coury, the Roadrunners tied it once again with a solo home run by Osiel Flores, tying the game at 4.
The game remained tied until the 12th inning. Dotel reached on an error and then stole second base. He was then allowed third base after fielder interference and then scored when Stantrel Smith provided an RBI single.
Julio Castro (1-0) picked up the win after pitching a scoreless top of the 12th and Jason Oatman (1-3) got the run after allowing the winning run.
The Roadrunners and Thunder will play the final game of their four-game series at 7:05 p.m. Thursday night at Edinburg Baseball Stadium. Ryan Harris is expected to start for Edinburg.
-- Roadrunners Services
Roadrunners announce dates for baseball camps
EDINBURG - The Edinburg Roadrunners of the North American League have announced they will play host to two baseball camps for little leaguers in the Rio Grande Valley on June 24 and 25 and July 29 and 30.
Each two-day camp is $75 per entry or $125 for both camps. Each participant will receive a ticket for each game of every camp they participate in.
Each camp will consist of two days, will start at 10 a.m. and finish at 1 p.m. Each participant is to bring their own equipment (glove, cleats, bat, etc.).
Roadrunners manager Steve Maddock and Roadrunners players will assist in teaching the pitching, fielding and hitting aspects of the game.
“It is always good to give back to the youth of the community,” Maddock said. “It is important to help young players with their growth in baseball.”
For more information, call (956) 380-4446.
-- Roadrunners Services
