We have personnel news to report from the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Low A; Midwest League) and the Staten Island Yankees (Short Season A; NY-Penn League).
In Bowling Green, the Hot Rods have announced the addition of Shawn Murnin as their new Media Relations and Broadcasting Manager. He will serve as the team’s primary media contact, as well as, the Voice of the Hot Rods.
Murnin joins the club after spending 2018 as the Hagerstown Suns (Low A; Sally League) Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations. This will be the 30-year-old’s second stint in the Midwest League after serving as the Peoria Chiefs Media Relations and Broadcasting Assistant during 2017. He also filled in for former Hot Rods broadcaster, Alex Cohen, for four games during that season.
“When the position came available, we had one person in mind. Shawn brings a wealth of experience and a tireless work ethic.” Assistant General Manager Matt Ingram said. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have him narrate Hot Rods baseball for the 2019 season.”
Prior to his time with the Chiefs, Shawn was the Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations with the Mankato MoonDogs (summer collegiate; Northwoods League). He received the 2015 Northwoods League Play-by-Play Announcer of the Year award for his work behind the microphone during his first season with the MoonDogs.
“I’m chomping at the bit to get started with the Hot Rods,” Murnin said. “Having seen it first hand, I know how great the fans in Bowling Green are and can’t wait to start connecting with them. When you pair that with the tremendous group of broadcasters in the Midwest League and the awesome front office staff at Bowling Green Ballpark, I’m very grateful for this opportunity.”
The 30-year-old spent 2011 as a Broadcasting and Media Relations Assistant with the Scranton/WilkesBarre Yankees (Class AAA; International League) and is a 2011 graduate of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. While at ESU, Murnin was the sports director for the school’s student-run radio station, 90.3 FM WESS. During his two-years at the station he co-hosted a weekly program while also doing play by-play for the university’s baseball and football teams.
Fans can listen to Hot Rods baseball during the 2019 season on Willie 107.9 FM or on their smart phones through the MiLB First Pitch App and the TuneIn Radio App. For the first time in franchise history fans will also be able to watch Hot Rods home games online with MiLB TV while anyone attending a game at Bowling Green Ballpark can view the new in-house game feed.
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In Staten Island, the Yankees have announced that six staff members have been promoted within the front office.
David Percarpio, who has been with the organization since 2014, has been promoted to Director, Merchandise where he will continue the merchandise growth the team saw in 2018. Jesse Lopresti has been named Manager, Ticket Operations while David Budash is now the Manager, Community Relations & Group Tickets. Megan Bloyd and Mitchell Lister were promoted to Manager, Ticket Sales & Service and Manager, Group Ticket Sales respectively. Mike Gerbasi has been elevated to a full-time role within the organization where he will now serve as Corporate Sales, Finance Associate.
“It is our goal to always promote from within at the Staten Island Yankees,” said President/Operating Partner Will Smith. “These individuals have proved themselves valuable pieces to our team and I look forward to continuing to work with them as they gain more responsibilities.”
Percarpio, from Ridgefield Park, NJ, has been with the Staten Island Yankees for the past five seasons, starting as a Senior Account Executive before being promoted to the Group Sales Manager. A graduate of the University of Oregon, he started his career with the Florida Panthers (NHL) in 2008 as an Inside Sales Representative before being promoted to an Account Executive of Group Sales.
Lopresti is entering his fifth season with the Staten Island Yankees. He is a resident on Staten Island and attended St. John’s University. During the 2015 and 2016 season he was a ticket operations intern. He joined the organization full-time as a Ticket Sales Representative in December 2016 and in April 2017 was promoted to Group Sales Executive, and is now returning to the Box Office as the Manager of Ticket Operations.
Budash joined the Staten Island Yankees in May of 2017. The Indiana, PA native originally joined Staten Island as a Seasonal Sales Representative, before being hired full-time in the middle of the 2017 season as a Group Sales Executive. He graduated from Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA in 2016, with a major in Marketing and a minor in Strategic Communication. Prior to his time with the Yankees, he completed marketing and sales internships with the Altoona Curve (Class AA; Eastern League), as well as the York Revolution (independent; Atlantic League). He is also a class of 2017 alumnus of the Harry Wendelstedt School of Professional Umpiring.
Bloyd was born and raised in Flemington, New Jersey. She graduated from Neumann University in May 2016 with a B.S in Sport and Entertainment Management and a minor in Communication. While she attended Neumann University she interned in the event operations department for the Philadelphia Union (MLS), a Marketing Intern for the 2014 National Curling Championship and the Broadcast Director for Neumann Sport Network. She joined Staten Island last February as a Group Sales Executive which was her first time working in Minor League Baseball. This year, she is looking forward to the challenge of her new role as Manager, Ticket Sales and Service.
Lister enters his second season with the Staten Island Yankees. He attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. During the seasons of 2013-2015, he interned with the Lynchburg Hillcats (High A; Carolina League), focusing on Sales, Stadium Operations, and even spent a season as the Visiting Clubhouse Assistant. During the 2017 season, he spent the year with the Hickory Crawdads (Low A; Sally League) as a Group Sales Executive. Last year, he began his role as a Group Sales Executive with Staten Island.
Gerbasi was born and raised in the Washington, DC suburb of Silver Spring, MD. He graduated from Elon University in 2018 with degrees in Sport Management and Finance. Before joining Staten Island, he got his first taste working in baseball with the Bowie Baysox (Class AA; Eastern League) in 2015. In addition, he has gained experience working for the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, USA Soccer and Aloha Tournaments as well as traveling to the Dominican Republic to study MLB Academies and the impact baseball has on the D.R.