Cavemen sign player with Hannibal ties

The Hannibal Cavemen on Thursday announced the signing of two more players, one of which has ties to Hannibal.
Joining the Cavemen are James Hudelson, a right-handed pitcher, and catcher Bryce Tafleski, a former draft pick of the Cleveland Indians.
Hannibal is the hometown of Hudelson’s father, Kent, who was a member of the Hannibal High School baseball team when the Pirates played their home games at Clemens Field. Hudelson’s uncle, Brad, and his grandparents, Richard and MaryAnn, still live in Hannibal.
“Now we’ve got someone with some local ties. That’s pretty good,” said Cavemen co-owner Larry Owens of the 6-foot-3, 200-pound freshman at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Mo.
During his high school career at Hickman High School in Columbia, Hudelson was a three-time all-district 3rd baseman. As a pitcher his senior year, he pitched 43 innings, striking out 54 with a 2.75 ERA. Opponents hit just .187 against him.
“He’s a big time pitcher,” said Cavemen co-owner Bob Hemond.
Last summer Hudelson played on the Columbia Legion Team which placed second in the state. In pitching 36 innings, he struck out 50 batters with a 2.67 ERA. Opponents hit only .170 against him. Additionally, he batted .395 with 17 doubles, five homers and 52 RBI in 48 games.
“James has a quality arm,” said Jay Hemond, director of baseball operations for the Hannibal Cavemen. “He throws consistently in the upper 80s to 90 miles per hour, but has been clocked as high as 93. We look for him to work out of the bullpen in the late innings.”
The 6-foot, 200-pound Tafelski attends University of California at Santa Barbara. 
The red-shirt freshman from Santa Ynez High School in California batted .451, with eight home runs, 39 RBI and 20 stolen bases during his senior season in 2007. He was drafted in 2007 by the Cleveland Indians in the 42nd round. He is the third player on the Hannibal Cavemen roster to have been previously drafted, joining outfielders Colin Hofmann (Florida Marlins, 50th Round 2008) and Kyle Gaedele (Tampa Bay Rays, 32nd Round 2008).