GARY, IN. 11-5-2010 – As part of the trade that originally sent middle infielder Brian Kolb to the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League in July, the first official offseason move brings Kolb back in the fold for the Gary SouthShore RailCats in 2011.

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Kolb, 22, signed his first professional contract with the RailCats on July 7 when the ‘Cats were decimated by injuries. The Carlsbad, Calif. native appeared in five games in a RailCats uniform and tallied four hits, including a double in his first professional at-bat, before being traded to Evansville on July 19 as a few ‘Cats regulars began to come off the disabled list. In 38 games with the Otters, Kolb batted .229 with three doubles, a homer, nine RBI and eight stolen bases.  The 6’1” middle infielder returns to the RailCats as part of the trade that originally sent him to Evansville.

Kolb attended Wheaton (Ill.) College and finished his four-year career ranked 13th in NCAA Division III history with 270 career hits and 17th in NCAA Division III history in batting average (.450).  Kolb is Wheaton’s all-time career leader in 10 different offensive categories, including batting average, on-base percentage (.517), hits, doubles (56), runs batted in (156) and runs scored (173). His banner year was 2008, when Kolb hit a ridiculous .527 to lead all three divisions of NCAA baseball.  Kolb was a three-time All-Region honoree and a First Team All-America pick in 2008 and was named to the All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin team four straight seasons, taking home Player of the Year honors in 2008.

It’s not too late to pick up your FREE turkey for Thanksgiving. Pick up a RailCats flex pack for as little as $90 before November 19 and not only will you receive a free turkey, courtesy Fresh County Market, but the RailCats will also donate a turkey to a local charity. For more information and to purchase your flex pack today, visit www.railcatsbaseball.com.