By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Eastern Alamance alum Zack Littell began his eighth season as a pitcher in the major leagues with a couple of starting assignments with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Littell, in his third season with the Rays, gave up one run in six innings but suffered the loss to the Colorado Rockies in his season debut at the Rays’ temporary home stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Then last week he was tagged with another loss despite logging seven innings at Texas, where he allowed five runs to the Rangers.
Elon alum George Kirby began the season on the Seattle Mariners’ injured list because of right shoulder inflammation. He’s a former All-Star pitcher. Kirby’s 33 starts last year tied for the top number in the major leagues. He had a 14-11 record in 2024.
Reliever John Brebbia, another former Elon pitcher, is in his eighth season in the big leagues, but his first with the Detroit Tigers.
Also in the big leagues, Burlington resident Will Venable won in his debut as manager of the
Chicago White Sox when the team captured an 8-1 home victory against the Los Angeles Angels late last month.
St. Laurent returns to Modesto
Western Alamance graduate Austin St. Laurent got off to a strong start in the first series of the season for the Modesto Nuts of the Class A California League.
The infielder had at least one hit in each of three games against the visiting San Jose Giants.
St. Laurent was drafted in the 14th round out of Appalachian State last summer by the Seattle Mariners. He played briefly last year for Modesto after the draft. He’s also a former summer college player for the Burlington Sock Puppets.
Elon’s pro impact
Aside from Kirby and Brebbia, former Elon players are sprinkled throughout pro teams.
Kyle Brnovich is in the starting rotation for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, top affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. He struck out seven in four innings of his season debut last week in a road game against the Charlotte Knights. He gave up two runs on four hits in a no-decision.
Infielder Cam Devanney homered four times in his first five games with the Omaha Storm Chasers, the Triple-A club for the Kansas City Royals. This is the fourth season in a row that Devanney has been on the Triple-A level.
Pitcher Ty Adcock, who has appeared in 15 major-league games prior to this year, is listed on the roster of the Syracuse Mets, who are a Triple-A club under the New York Mets.
Adcock, Brnovich, Devanney and Kirby were members of Elon’s 2019 regular-season championship team in what’s now called the Coastal Athletic Association.
Brian Edgington is with the Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati Reds) of the Class A Midwest League. Ben Simon is with the Brooklyn Cyclones (New York Mets) of the Class A South Atlantic League.
In the Class A Carolina League, pitcher Cole Reynolds, who went from Elon to Charlotte as a college player, is with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Chicago Cubs) and pitcher Shea Sprague, who transferred to North Carolina for the 2024 season, is with the Salem Red Sox (Boston Red Sox).
Former Elon outfielder Alex Iadisernia was placed on the voluntarily retired list in the offseason after three seasons in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system. Ex-Elon pitcher Trevor Kirk was released by the New York Yankees organization last fall.
