Former Spartan Chris Nowak Called Up To Durham Bulls
8/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 20, 2008
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Former USC Upstate standout Chris Nowak (Milwaukee, Wis.) is one step closer to his dream of playing in the major leagues as the third baseman/outfielder in the Tampa Bay Ray organization was called up to AAA Durham for Tuesday's game at Louisville. Nowak sits in the top five in career batting average, hits, doubles, triples and runs batted in on USC Upstate's all-time lists.
Nowak, who has been in the Tampa Bay organization since being drafted at the end of his junior year at USC Upstate in 2004, had a successful debut with the Durham Bulls, going 2-for-4 with a walk at the plate. In the field, he tossed out two runners while starting in right field, gunning down a runner at second and a runner at the plate.
Nowak had been in the midst of a great season at the Rays' AA-club, Montgomery, where he was in the top five in the Southern League in runs (80, fourth), hits (136, fifth), doubles (35, fourth), RBIs (77, fifth) and was in the top 10 in homers (15, ninth). Overall, he had a .295 average and had appeared in 122 games for the Biscuits in his second year with the team.
Nowak finished his first full season at Double-A in 2007 with a .304 batting average, seven homers and 55 RBIs. He also stole 18 bases and added a hefty .396 on-base percentage. In his final 15 games, Nowak was on fire, hitting five homers and batting .467 (28-for-60), helping lead the team to its second straight Southern League Championship. He was even named the Southern League Championship MVP. Nowak left USC Upstate after only three years (2002-04), but held the school's career record for hits (232), since broken, and doubles (53). He posted a .376 career batting average and 121 RBIs.
Drafted in the 19th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Players' Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Nowak has advanced progressively through the minors, spending the 2004 season with the short-season Class A Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York-Penn League. He moved up to the low Class A affiliate, the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays, and spent 2006 in the high-Class A California League with the Visalia Oaks, where he hit .308 with 11 homers and 103 RBIs in a notorious pitchers' league.
Two other former Upstate baseball players are also enjoying fine summers in professional baseball, with both Bradley Blanks (2006-07, Fort Mill, S.C.) and Brandon Williams (2003-06, Tega Cay, S.C.) playing in the independent Frontier League.
Williams, who is playing with the Gateway Grizzlies, has been a key starter for the team all year long, posting a 7-4 record to go with a 3.82 ERA. In 77.2 innings, Williams has struck out 56 batters and walked just 27. The Grizzlies is currently in third place in the West Division standings with a 42-40 record.
Blanks, meanwhile, has been one of the most effective relievers in the league. Serving as a setup man and short reliever for the Evansville Otters, Blanks has posted a 3-1 record to go with a 1.99 ERA. In 26 appearances, he has thrown 31.2 innings, striking out 22 and walking 14.
Upstate, which finished 25-29 overall and 17-16 in the Atlantic Sun, finished over .500 in conference play for the first time since then-USC Spartanburg went 12-6 in the NAIA District Six in 1990. It finished tied for fifth in the conference and would have qualified for the six-team Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament field, but it is still in the first of its four years in the provisionary process in the transition to Division I, making it ineligible for postseason play.
