Bees Sign Veteran Catcher

The Bees have signed former Mets catcher Josh Thole. An eight-year MLB
veteran, Thole also played with the Blue Jays.

NEW BRITAIN–The New Britain Bees have announced the signing of catcher Josh Thole. This will be Thole’s 13th season of professional baseball, and his maiden voyage in the Atlantic League. He The last played in 2016 with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 31-year-old backstop was selected in the 13th round of the 2005 amateur draft by the New York Mets. He spent five years in the Mets’ system before making his MLB debut with the Mets in 2009.

Thole spent four years in New York, where he was a starter in 2011 and 2012. The Mets traded Thole to Toronto after the 2012 season, along with knuckle-baller R.A. Dickey, who had just won the Cy Young Award, for Noah Syndergaard and Travis D'Arnaud. Thole spent the next four campaigns with the Jays. Overall, in 478 career Major League games spanning eight seasons, Thole has a .242 batting average with 65 extra base hits, 111 RBI, and 99 runs scored. In the minors, he has a .286 average along with 17 homers, 106 doubles, 220 runs scored and 227 RBIs. His minor league OBP is .371.

“Josh will bring an extensive amount of big league experience to our club and we’re glad to have him on board,” Bees general manager Brad Smith said. “He’s a professional hitter and will work great with our veteran pitching staff.”

All-Star Voting Underway

Voting is currently underway for the 2018 Atlantic League All-Star Game, presented by Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center. Fans can cast their ballots online until Sat., June 30, by clicking HERE. Those wishing to vote may do so as often as they wish to support their favorite player or players to make the rosters that will represent the Liberty and Freedom Divisions at the All-Star Game on Wed., July 11. Fan voting will be used as a percentage towards All-Star selection, along with voting from Atlantic League officials and media.

The Atlantic League’s 21st Annual All-Star Game will be held at Bethpage Ballpark, the home of the Long Island Ducks, on Wed., July 11, at 6:35 p.m.

“I have been greatly impressed by the talent showcased across all eight member clubs thus far in 2018,” Atlantic League president Rick White said. “We are excited to welcome the All-Star Game back to Long Island this year and look forward to watching the league’s best players, as voted, in part, by our great fans, on the same field.”

The midsummer classic will be preceded by the Digmi Home Run Derby, showcasing several of the top power hitters in the league this year. Following the game, all fans in attendance will be treated to the biggest Fireworks Spectacular of the season.

Tickets for the 2018 Atlantic League All-Star Game, presented by Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center, are on sale now! Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Bethpage Ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX, clicking HERE or downloading the Ducks mobile app. More information regarding the All-Star Game and its surrounding events will be announced as the game date approaches.

Widely recognized as the top independent minor league baseball circuit in the country, more than 900 players and 50 managers and coaches have joined MLB organizations directly from the Atlantic League. In addition, over 38 million fans have attended Atlantic League games since the circuit’s inception in 1998. For more information, please visit http://www.atlanticleague.com/.

—Staff Reports

Alyssa Thomas Named Eastern Conference PoW

The Sun's Alyssa Thomas has been named the WNBA Eastern Conference
Player of the Week for the opening week of the season, (May 18-27, 2018).

NEW YORK—Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun and Chelsea Gray of the Los Angeles Sparks today were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played May 18-27.

Thomas, a 2017 All-Star and WNBA All-Defensive Second Team selection, was named Player of the Week for the third time in her career.  Behind the 6-2 forward, the Sun went 3-0 during the opening week to equal its best start since 2012.  Thomas led East players in rebounding (10.0 rpg) and minutes (31.9 mpg), ranked third in field goal percentage (62.5, 20-of-32) and was sixth in scoring (16.3 ppg) and assists (4.3 apg).

In Connecticut’s season-opening 101-65 win over the Las Vegas Aces on May 20, Thomas set a career high with 17 rebounds while contributing 13 points and six assists.  Thomas followed that performance with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a 102-94 victory over the Sparks on May 24.  In the fourth quarter, Thomas tallied nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and grabbed five rebounds as the Sun rallied from a nine-point deficit.  The fifth-year pro closed her week with a game-high 21 points as Connecticut defeated the Indiana Fever 86-77 on May 26.

Gray was named Player of the Week for the first time in her career.  The 5-11 guard and 2017 All-WNBA Second Team selection led West players in assists (7.3 apg) and steals (2.0 spg) and ranked seventh in scoring (18.5 ppg).

Gray opened the season on May 20 with 18 points, eight assists and a career-high six steals at Minnesota, where her driving basket at the buzzer gave Los Angeles a 77-76 win over the defending champion Lynx.  The play evoked memories of her game-winning, buzzer-beating jumper for the Sparks in Game 1 of the 2017 WNBA Finals against Minnesota. 

On May 22, Gray’s all-around effort in an 87-70 win at Indiana included 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.  Two days later, she scored 21 points in a 102-94 loss to the Sun.  The four-year veteran capped her week with game highs of 23 points and eight assists as Los Angeles beat the visiting Phoenix Mercury 80-72 on May 27.  

Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were the Atlanta Dream’s Tiffany Hayes, the Chicago Sky’s Allie Quigley, the Dallas Wings’ Liz Cambage, Las Vegas’ A’Ja Wilson, Los Angeles’ Nneka Ogwumike, Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles, the New York Liberty’s Tina Charles, Seattle’s Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart, and the Washington Mystics’ Elena Delle Donne.

For more information on the WNBA Players of the Week, visit www.wnba.com/awards.

The 2018 WNBA regular season extends through Aug. 19 and the playoffs begin on Aug. 21.  For more information on the WNBA and game tickets, fans may visit www.wnba.com.

Islanders-Rangers Presale

As you are no doubt aware, the New York Islanders, parent team of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, will host their archrivals, the New York Rangers, parent team of the Hartford Wolf Pack, on Saturday, September 22, at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. Presale began today and will continue until Thursday at 11:45 p.m.

To purchase presale tickets, please click HERE and use the promo code RIVALS. Presale is available via Ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 800.745.3000. General public on-sale begins on Friday at 10 a.m.

—Staff Reports

Sun Foil Fever, Remain Undefeated

The Sun and Fever tip-off on Saturday night. Connecticut was looking
to get off to its first 3-0 start since 2008. With an 86-77 win over Indiana,
that's exactly what they did. (Photo by Bob Phillips)

By Bob Phillips

UNCASVILLE—In the end, the Indiana Fever simply dug themselves a hole too deep to crawl out of. In reality, these teams were like two ships passing in the night. The Indiana Fever came into the game winless, with an 0-4 record. The Connecticut Sun came with a 2-0 record. The Fever exit 0-5, and are beginning to see their hopes for postseason play fade awa. Already. The Sun, meanwhile improve to 3-0 and are one of the two WNBA teams remaining unbeaten. (The Washington Mystics are the other.) It is also the first 3-0 start for the Sun since 2008.

Alyssa Thomas led all scorers with a season-high 21 points, and was one of five Connecticut players to score in double digits, as the Sun topped the Fever, 86-77, before 5,843 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night. Rachel Banham came off the Connecticut bench to score 14 points, while Courtney Williams and Jasmine Thomas scored 11 points each for the Sun. Chiney Ogwumike scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Sun.

Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 18 points, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. Candace Dupree added 14 points, while Victoria Vivians chimed in with 13—including 3-for-5 from downtown—for Indiana.

Indeed, the Sun never trailed in this game. Leading 24-21 at the first turn, the Sun appeared to blow the game open with a 13-0 run over the first three minutes of the second quarter to open up a 16-point lead. But Indiana wouldn’t roll over, and chipped away, cutting the Connecticut lead to five, 40-35, with 3:37 left until intermission. Connecticut regained its nine-point advantage and went into the locker room leading 47-38 at halftime.

A 20-6 Connecticut run midway through the third period gave the Sun a 70-51 lead entering the fourth period… far to great a lead for the Fever to overcome.

“Well it wasn't always pretty tonight, and certainly we had stretches that we didn't play particularly well, but mission accomplished,” said Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller. “We didn't shy away this year from talking about how important May was. We got off to slow starts my first year and second year. We knew when the schedule came out, and how much we're on the road in June and early July, that this three-game homestand to start the year was very, very important to us. So mission accomplished getting to 3-0. We're really excited about that. Good teams take care of business at home.

“Despite any of those three teams being at full strength, we did what we needed to do,” Miller continued. “Tonight, I thought we had good stretches. We couldn't sustain it for as long as we wanted. The fourth quarter, as good as it was for us the other night, was a struggle tonight. I have to give credit to Indiana's second unit. Their energy in the second half with 10 offensive rebounds alone in the half and a lot of put-backs, and their fight in the fourth quarter was a reversal of what we did the other night in the fourth quarter. We're proud of our gang that we got to the finish line.”

Before Sun fans get too giddy however, there are two things to keep in mind: The Sun’s opponents in their first three games own a combined record of 2-8. Also, all of Connecticut’s first three games have been played in the cozy confines of the Mohegan Sun Arena.

They now embark on a four-game road trip beginning with a game against Stephanie Dolson, Gabby Williams and the Chicago Sky in the Windy City on Friday. They won’t return home until Saturday, June 9, when they will host Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, and the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. For ticket information, click HERE.

—with staff reports