FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 2, 2018
CONTACT: Jared Shlensky
[email protected]

GARY, IND. — The Gary SouthShore RailCats signed infielder Thomas Walraven to his first professional baseball contract on Tuesday and signed infielder Josh Anthony to his first American Association contract on Wednesday. The RailCats also traded outfielder Tillman Pugh to the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for future considerations on Thursday.

Walraven was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)All-East Honorable Mention Team, the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) Second Team, the NE10 All-Tournament Team, the NE10 Academic All-Conference Team, the Google Cloud Academic All-District Team and the NCAA Division II East Region All-Tournament Team after batting a career-high .355 as a redshirt-senior at the University of New Haven in 2018. Walraven also led the Chargers with 66 hits, 18 doubles, 45 runs, 22 extra-base hits and 51 games started, and was second on the team with four home runs, 186 at-bats, 96 total bases, 35 walks, a .463 on-base percentage and a .516 slugging percentage. Defensively, Walraven garnered the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award after posting a .974 fielding percentage and set a single-season school record with 155 assists.

As a redshirt-junior in 2017, Walraven was named to the NE10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, the NCBWA Honorable Mention Team and the NE10 First Team after hitting .302 with a team-high 37 runs, four home runs and 14 stolen bases. Walraven missed the entire 2016 season due to injury before being named to the NE10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll as a sophomore in 2015 after batting .314 with a team-best .391 on-base percentage.

As a freshman in 2014, Walraven was named the New Haven Rookie of the Year, the NE10 Co-Rookie of the Year, Third Team NE10, the NE10 All-Rookie Team and to the NE10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll after hitting .317 with 18 runs scored, 16 RBIs and 19 walks in 35 games (34 starts). Walraven finished his collegiate career as the school’s all-time career leader with 93 walks and 409 assists, fifth with 162 games started and 634 at-bats, eighth with 163 games played and 10th with 38 doubles.

Anthony signed his first professional baseball contract with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League in 2018 following his senior season at Auburn University and batted .100 (1-for-10) with three RBIs and a sacrifice fly in four games. As a senior at Auburn, Anthony slashed .301/.402/.417/.819 with 43 runs, 65  hits, 13 doubles, four home runs, 40 RBIs, 90 total bases, 33 walks and seven stolen bases in 64 games (63 starts). As a junior in 2017, Anthony slashed .266/.375/.352/.727 in his first season with the Tigers and finished second on the team with 39 RBIs and 14 doubles in 63 games (62 starts).

Prior to attending Auburn University, Anthony played collegiately at Western Oklahoma State College from 2015-2016. Anthony was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 16th round of the 2016 MLB Draft and was named a First Team NJCAA All-American after slashing .444/.565/.862/1.427 with a team-best 112 runs, 100 hits, 17 doubles, 25 home runs, 43 extra-base hits, 84 RBIs, 49 stolen bases and 54 walks in 65 games. As a freshman in 2015, Anthony slashed .425/.519/.822/1.341 with 79 runs, 91 hits, 23 doubles, 20 home runs, 44 extra-base hits, 71 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and 36 walks in 64 games.

Pugh signed with the RailCats for the third time in the last four seasons on July 9 and led the RailCats with a .357 batting average, .436 on-base percentage, .554 slugging percentage and .990 OPS. The 29-year-old veteran also led the American Association with a 41-game on-base streak and reached base in a season-high-tying five plate appearances.

Ticket packages for the 2019 Gary SouthShore RailCats season are available online at railcatsbaseball.com and can also be purchased by calling the RailCats ticket line at (219) 882-BALL. The RailCats box office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

--RAILCATS--