Outlaws' pitchers help carry team to tops in GBL

Teammates Eri Yoshida and Kris Honel, who leads the league in both wins and strikeouts, have more in common than meets the eye.

Not only are they both right-handed starting pitchers for the Golden Baseball League Northern division-leading Chico Outlaws.

The two were both drafted by professional baseball teams when they were 17 years old.

Yoshida got her first chance with the Kobe Cruise 9 in Japan, when they drafted her in the 7th round last year.

Honel was a first round pick (16th overall) of the Chicago White Sox in 2001.

“Getting drafted right out of high school was a dream come true,” Honel said. “I knew from a young age that I wanted to go into baseball (as a career), so it was incredible to get a chance like that. It was really special for my parents too.”

The Chico ace came to the GBL in 2009 as an Edmonton Capital, after spending seven seasons in the White Sox organization.

He reached as high as Double-A before getting let go.

“It was the team’s decision – there was nothing I could do about it,” Honel said about his departure from affiliated baseball. “Even though it didn’t work out, I learned a lot from my time there, and I want to get back (to a MLB team). I’m out there to get signed again.”

As for Yoshida, she was signed by two teams in two different countries in as many years.

After pitching a season in Japan, the Yokohama native came to the United States to find a new opportunity.

The Outlaws picked her up in 2010, after seeing her performance in the Arizona Winter League.

Both Honel and Yoshida were named as 2009 All-Stars in their respective countries.

Yoshida represented the Kobe Cruise 9 in the Kansai Independent All-Star Game last year and pitched the ninth inning, while Honel – then a Capital – played in the 2009 GBL All-Star Game, held in St. George, Utah.

This season, Honel leads the league in wins (6) and strikeouts (52). He also has the third lowest ERA (2.05) in the league.

Although Honel and Yoshida both sit in the same dugout, they do have their differences.

Honel, the more experienced of the two, said that he gives the young Japanese pitcher advice occasionally but feels she needs to find her own identity as a pitcher first.

“We have really different pitching styles,” Honel, 27, said. “I think it’s important for her to master her own skills in her own way and find herself as a pitcher before she tries to start emulating others.”

As for having Yoshida as a teammate, the Illinois native said it’s been a fun ride.

“It’s been really exciting having her on the team,” Honel said. “It brings people out to the park and gives us more publicity.”

“You know, people always ask me about how it feels to have a girl on the team, and I think that if she wants to get out there, then more power to her.”

It’s not just Chico pitchers who are backing Yoshida.

Outlaws second baseman Bobby Hill, who played for four years at the major league level for the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, also supports the Knuckle Princess in her baseball career.

“It’s a good experience for her,” Hill said. “I mean, she’s 18 years old, and she’s going out there and facing grown men. She’s handled herself very well, every step of the way. It’s been great watching what she’s done.”

Yoshida has pitched four games for Chico this season. Her last start was on July 2, when she went 3 innings on five runs (four earned) and five hits against the St. George Roadrunners.

Honel gives fans preview of All-Star Selection

Honel was selected for the second consecutive season to the GBL All-Star Game, and in Tuesday night’s 5-3 Chico victory over the Toros, he pitched like an All-Star.

The Outlaws No. 1 starter recorded his sixth quality start in a row, going 6 2/3 innings on three hits and two runs, but didn’t get the decision.

“I attack hitters as much as possible,” Honel said. “I try to stay consistent and keep the same approach – attack with the fastball and locate my pitches.”

“It’s hot down here (in Tucson), so I tried to keep my guys from being on the field too long.”

In the 10-inning game, Chico struck first in the opening frame, when the Toros made two errors that lead to a run.

A four-hit, two-run third inning put the Outlaws up, 3-0, after three.

Tucson’s first run came in the fourth on an RBI single by Jim Rushford.

The Toros kept chipping away at the deficit, scoring a run in the seventh, and then tying the game at 3 on Francisco Plasencia’s base hit in the eighth.

Honel left in the seventh with a 3-2 lead. Two of his four walks came against Toros All-Star Lino Garcia.

“Honel was up in the zone all night,” Garcia said. “I was just trying to get on base to put pressure on the defense.”

“As good as Honel is, there’s something missing in him. He has a good fastball, curveball and changeup – when they are all working for him, he’s hard to hit. But he gets wild a lot, and location is Honel’s biggest downfall. If he could locate his pitches, he could be something really special.”

Garcia went 1 for 2 with three walks and three stolen bases on the night.

In a tied ball game, the Outlaws regained the lead in the top of the 10th inning, putting two runs across – one from a single and another off a wild pitch by Andrew Snowdon – forcing Tucson into a must-score position in the final frame.

Down 5-3 in the bottom half, the Toros threatened with back-to-back hits to leadoff the inning but couldn’t advance the runners any closer and suffered their third straight loss.

Tucson starting pitcher Albie Lopez went 7 innings on three runs (two earned) and nine hits. It was the longest outing the right-hander has had all season.