We have personnel news to report from the West Virginia Miners (summer collegiate; Prospect League) and the Omaha Storm Chasers (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League).
The Miners have named Ryan Bayle their new Ticket Manager and an Account Representative. He will be taking over the spot formerly held by Nick Cuozzo, who is leaving the organization after four seasons.
Bayle joined the front office staff and became a full-time employee in October after interning for the team in both the Fall of 2017 and Summer of 2018 as part of the Miners’ game day promotions and administrative staff. He is in charge of all ticket activities at Linda K. Epling Stadium as well as coordinating the scheduling for the majority of the events at the facility that does not involve the Miners. He also has the duties of scheduling and execution of most baseball events at Linda K. Epling Stadium that range from middle school to many college level games.
Immediately prior to starting his career with the Miners, he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in 2018 in Sport Administration from West Virginia University-Tech, where he also was a pitcher on the Golden Bears’ baseball team for four years. Prior to joining the Miners, Bayle gained baseball administrative experience by serving in various capacities over several seasons with the Princeton Rays (Rookie; Appalachian League).
He is a 2014 graduate of Princeton (WV) Senior High School, where he played baseball for four years and was a member of the Tigers’ 2012 AAA West Virginia State Champions baseball team. Baseball runs in his family as his father, Mark, was a standout pitcher for both Garrett Community College in Maryland and Concord College (now Concord University) in the early 1990’s. His uncle, Mick, was a two-time Junior College All-American at Garrett Community College before finishing his college career as a starting first baseman at West Virginia Wesleyan College.
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In Omaha, the Storm Chasers have announced several front office promotions and additions.
“I am very excited with both the experience and character we have added to our front office team,” said Omaha Storm Chasers President and General Manager Martie Cordaro. “We look forward to building off of our 50th season and carrying that momentum into 2019.”
Additions in the Sales Department include Zach Ziler, who joins the Storm Chasers as Group Sales Manager after four seasons as the Director of Ticket Sales for the Florence Freedom (independent; Frontier League). The Storm Chasers also welcome Stephen Mayes and Michael McCoy to the front office staff as Group Ticket Sales Executive and Ticket Operation Assistant, respectively. Mayes comes to Omaha following two seasons with the North Shore Navigators (summer collegiate; Futures Collegiate Baseball League), while McCoy most recently has worked with the Gwinnett Stripers (Class AAA; International League) and Nashville Sounds (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League).
Laura Warnock also joins the Storm Chasers as Human Resources Manager, while Mitch Cunningham is the new Retail Operations Coordinator. Warnock is a 2017 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, while Cunningham graduated from Central Michigan University in 2016 prior to serving as Assistant Merchandise Manager with the Portland Sea Dogs (Class AA; Eastern League).
The Marketing Department has undergone several changes, including the addition of Lauren Kirk as Creative Services Manager. In addition, Andrew Asbury and Scott Popp have been promoted to the roles of Marketing & Promotions Manager and Video & Multimedia Coordinator, respectively. Asbury joined the Storm Chasers prior to the 2017 campaign as a seasonal associate and was Marketing and Promotions Coordinator this past season, while Popp joined Omaha in 2018 as the Multimedia Seasonal Associate. Nick Sandberg transitions to the role of Promotions & Game Ops Manager, while Cory Livingston has transferred into the department as Client Services Manager after serving as Group Ticket Sales Executive – Military Relations at the start of the 2018 season. 2018 was Sandberg’s second season after joining the franchise in January 2017 as Mascot & Community Relations Seasonal Associate and serving as Mascot and Theme Night Manager this past season.
Changes in the Ballpark Operations Department include the promotions of Scott Rowedder and Tom Walter to the roles of Head Groundskeeper and Grounds Manager, respectively. Rowedder served as Assistant Groundskeeper starting in 2015 being his promotion to Grounds Manager in October 2017. Walter previously was the Grounds Assistant with the Storm Chasers the past two seasons.