Travs make front-office changes
The Arkansas Travelers, the Class AA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, announced several front office moves Tuesday, most notably the hire of the club’s first woman general manager. Sophie Ozier will be stepping into a full-time role as general manager next season, the club announced.
“Sophie did an incredible job stepping into the GM position on an interim basis in the middle of the season and running with it,” Travs CEO Rusty Meeks said in a release. “She is a creative, passionate leader with a clear understanding of our organization and community.” Ozier, who has worked for the Travs since 2017, first served as the team’s corporate event planner, director of group sales and promotions before being promoted to assistant general manager in 2020.
With Ozier’s promotion, Ben Hornbrook and John Sjobeck have been promoted to assistant general managers for the Travs.
The club also announced three new hires — Bradley Field as graphic designer and digital content creator, Tori Heck as multimedia/merchandise coordinator and Ramsey Purvis as corporate event planner.
The team also announced that Montag Genser has been promoted to director of group sales, and that broadcaster Steven Davis is officially full-time and Austin Paradis has been hired as an assistant grounds manager.
— Adam Cole
Travs’ DeLoach named to All-Star team
Arkansas Travelers outfielder Zach DeLoach has been named to the Arizona Fall League’s West Division All-Star team.
Though he was selected to the all-star team, DeLoach’s fall league performance at the plate has been sub-par, batting a league-low .175. He has 10 hits, 8 RBI, 2 doubles and a home run in 15 games.
The outfielder batted .227 in 49 games for the Travelers in 2021, with 10 doubles, 5 home runs and 22 RBI.
DeLoach will play for the West Division in the “Fall Stars” All-Star Game at 6 p.m. Central on Saturday at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz.
— Adam Cole
UALR releases schedule
The University of Arkansas-Little Rock’s 2022 baseball schedule features 32 home contests among a total of 53 games, the most for the Trojans since 2010.
UALR begins Feb. 18 with a three-game set at home at Gary Hogan Field against Eastern Illinois and will host Western Illinois and Southern Illinois over the following two weekends before the Trojans’ first road game when they play at Central Arkansas in Conway on March 8.
Sun Belt Conference play begins March 18 with a three-game series at Georgia State and UALR will go to Fayetteville on March 29 and 30 for a pair of matchups with the University of Arkansas.
The Trojans conclude league play with a three-game road set at reigning West Division champion Louisiana-Lafayette on May 19-21 before heading to Montgomery, Ala., for the Sun Belt tournament beginning May 24.
— Mitchell Gladstone
BASKETBALL
Parkview’s Wallace orally commits to UCA
Little Rock Parkview senior wing Cameron Wallace orally committed to the University of Central Arkansas on Thursday afternoon.
Wallace, 6-7, 200 pounds, pledged to the Bears over offers from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Alcorn State, Southeast Missouri State, Henderson State and others.
He averaged 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists a game as a junior to lead the Patriots to the Class 5A state semifinals. As a sophomore, he averaged 16 points and 6 rebounds per game.
— Richard Davenport