Schaumburg Boomers sign 2 more players

The Schaumburg Boomers roster now stands at 23 with the additions of former Arizona Diamondbacks farmhand Alex Thieroff, a right-handed pitcher, and infielder Jordan Castaldo, manager Jamie Bennett announced.

Thieroff, 25, joined the Diamondbacks organization as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and put together a solid campaign for the Single-A Yakima Bears of the Northwest League. In 26.2 innings, Thieroff earned a 1-0 record and a 3.04 ERA after allowing nine earned runs on 24 hits and 22 strikeouts.

Thieroff got off to a rocky start in 2010 with the Rockford RiverHawks before turning it around in a Southern Illinois Miners uniform. In 24 innings with the Miners, Thieroff gave up just 8 earned runs on 22 hits, good for a 3.00 ERA. Thieroff finished 11 games for Southern Illinois and fanned 27 batters to close out the 2010 campaign. The 6-foot-3 pitcher comes to the Boomers as a free agent in 2012 after appearing in just 3.2 innings with the Windy City ThunderBolts in 2011.

Castaldo, 23, recently graduated from Arkansas State following a successful two-career that saw the 6-1 infielder bat .332 in 112 games as a member of the Red Wolves Baseball Team. In addition to 130 career hits, 10 home runs and 35 doubles, Castaldo drew more walks (87) than strikeouts (71) for an impressive .444 on-base percentage. Couple his stellar on-base with his .503 slugging percentage and Castaldo boasts a 947 OPS. During his senior season, Castaldo was also named to the All-Sunbelt Conference Tournament Team in 2011.

With the additions of Thieroff and Castaldo, the Boomers now have 23 players on the active roster and can have up to 34 players on the roster on May 2 when the team is scheduled to report for spring training at Schaumburg Boomers Stadium.

Both players join pitchers Andrew Cohn, Brandon Hairston, Gerard Hall, Drew Heithoff, Andy Heston, Mark Larini and Ellis Lowe; pitchers Matt Collins, Wally Goodline, Vinny Lally, Patrick Mincey, Joe Parsons, Robbie Penny, Dave Whigham and Andy Weeks; catchers David Fanshawe, Brad Hawn and Mike Valadez; and outfielders Nate Baumann, Cody McMorris and Raphael Turner.