June 28, 2005

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A pair of former UC Santa Barbara baseball stars have been promoted from Double-A to Triple-A.

Outfielder Ryan Spilborghs and left handed pitcher Jim Bullard, have been promoted by their respective teams. Spilborghs, a member of the Colorado Rockies organization, has been bumped from Tulsa of the Texas League to Colorado Springs of the Pacific Coast League, and Bullard, a member of the Chicago White Sox organization, has gone from Birmingham of the Southern League to Charlotte of the International Legue.

Teammates on the 2001 UCSB team that set a school record for winning percentage and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, Spilborghs and Bullard join another former Gaucho, Skip Schumaker, at the Triple-A level. After spending a week with the St. Louis Cardinals, Schumaker was sent back down to Triple-A Louisville last week.

Spilborghs, who recently took part in the Texas League All-Star Game, was having a banner season for the Tulsa Drillers. When he was summoned to Colorado Springs, he was batting .341 with 23 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 54 RBI, 51 runs scored, 87 hits, 42 walks, 10 stolen bases, a slugging percentage of .525, and an on-base percentage of .435. Although hitless in his first eight at bats at Colorado Springs, Spilborghs is expected to be a fixture in the Sky Sox lineup.

In his time at Charlotte, Bullard posted a 2-3 record with a 6.85 ERA. He pitched in eight games, starting six, and he went 23.2 innings. He also averaged just under one strikeout per inning. In his first appearance at Charlotte, the lanky lefty allowed six hits and six runs in four innings, but he also recorded five strikeouts.

The recall of Spilborghs and Bullard put them in a position to possibly join Schumaker as September call-ups to the Major Leagues.