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Personnel news: Frontier League, Bowling Green, South Bend

Frontier LeagueRich Sauget Sr. retires as president of the independent Frontier League, while the Bowling Green Hot Rods and South Bend Cubs (Low A; Midwest League) announce front-office changes.

Sauget is the third president in Frontier League history. He has held the position since November 2003. John Stanley, Evansville Otters Board Member, will serve as the League President for the next year.

“It has been a honor to serve the Frontier League,” Sauget said in a press statement. “I want to thank all of the players, administration and other owners of the league, as well as all of the Gateway Grizzlies family. My experiences and the relationships built during my tenure as President of the Frontier League have been some of my fondest in baseball. The future of the Frontier League and its’ partnership with MLB is exciting for the league and its’ teams. I’m confident the league will continue to reach new heights.” 

Sauget grew up in Belleville, Illinois where he was a standout athlete in high school. He was recruited to the University of Notre Dame where he lettered in both football and baseball. In football, he played under legendary Head Coach Ara Parseghian. He was a member of the 1964 National Championship team. In 1966, he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves and he played six seasons of professional baseball with the Braves and Giants, including being called up to Atlanta during the 1970 season. Following his baseball career, he has been involved in numerous business, development, civic and philanthropic ventures in the St. Louis area and around the world. The Gateway Grizzlies began play in the Frontier League in 2001 and opened GCS Ballpark in 2002. In 2015, he was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. 

In Bowling Green, the Hot Rods announced the promotion of Kyle Wolz, who takes over as the team’s Assistant General Manager, and Holli Hawkins, who assumes the role of Creative Services Director. 

Wolz, 30, becomes the Hot Rods’ AGM after overseeing the sales team and many other facets of the club as the Director of Sales. Wolz has been with the Hot Rods for over seven years and started as an intern during the 2014 season, having also served as an Account Executive and Box Office Manager. 

“Kyle has continued to display an incredible amount of energy and dedication to the Hot Rods and everything he does inside and outside of the ballpark,” Hot Rods COO and GM Eric C. Leach said. “It has been great to see him rise through the ranks from his internship with us all the way to Assistant General Manager. It’s a testament to how we do things here and to his inner drive for success.”

Holli Hawkins, 26, will be the team’s new Director of Creative Services and will oversee all creative projects for the HotRods. A California native, Hawkins joined the Hot Rods in 2019 as the team’s Social Media Coordinator and Promotions Assistant before earning a promotion to Social Media and Marketing Manager. She also manages all social media and marketing for the team, Vette City Catering, Bourbon & Brewfest, and assists Turbo with his Twitter account. Hawkins is a 2018 graduate of California State University, Fullerton.

In South Bend, Cubs Team President Joe Hart announced the promotion of Chris Hagstrom-Jones to Assistant General Manager. As Assistant General Manager for Marketing and Media, Hagstrom-Jones’s primary focus will be leading the Marketing, Media Relations & Broadcast, Production, and Community Relations departments.

“I am very excited for Chris,” Hart said via press statement. “He has certainly earned this promotion through all his hard work and dedication. There is no doubt that he has been a key part of our organization’s success since he joined the ballclub.”

Hagstrom-Jones joined the organization in 2014 as Production Manager for the South Bend Silver Hawks and was later promoted to Director of Media and Promotions. When the team announced the new affiliation with the Chicago Cubs later that year, he was instrumental in the rebrand as the South Bend Cubs, leading marketing and promotions and developing the team’s media relations department.

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