TROY, N.Y. -- Former Vanderbilt star right-hander Kumar Rocker returned to the mound Saturday night with the Class A Tri-City ValleyCats of the independent Frontier League, and his first experience as a pro ended after four innings of work.
With several major league scouts and a near sellout crowd of 4,088 at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on hand to get a glimpse of Rocker's first game since last June 30, the hard-throwing, 6-foot-5, 245-pounder breezed through the first three innings against the Trois-Rivieres Aigles, his fastball topping out at over 98 mph.
He threw 38 pitches and struck out five, all but the first one swinging, and allowed just a bloop single to left field by the second batter he faced, second baseman Ricardo Sanchez.