SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The 2013 Frontier League Champion Schaumburg Boomers and Manager of the Year Jamie Bennett announced the signings of former Chicago White Sox farmhand Cal Bowling and a pair of rookies in Howard Payne University southpaw Gilbert Barrera and University of Hawaii’s Max Duval.

Bowling, 24, spent the past two seasons with the White Sox after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Ball State University. In 26 pro games, the six-foot-two right-hander owns a 5.23 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 41.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen. A stellar 2010 junior season at Ball State propelled Bowling onto the radar for the Sox after he posted a 3.41 ERA over 14 starts and 89.2 innings, along with four complete games and a 5-5 record.

Barrera, 25, appeared in 43 games at Howard Payne University from 2008-2013, with an injury wiping out his entire 2009 season. As a senior in 2013, the lefty earned a 4.18 ERA in 11 starts to go along with 54 strikeouts in 51.2 innings of work.

Duval, 22, will be a true rookie with the Boomers after splitting his college career between the University of Hawaii and Cuesta College, a junior college in San Luis Obispo California. At Hawaii, Duval appeared in 67 games as a position player with 31 hits, 10 doubles and 21 runs batted in. Duval will be concentrating solely on being a pitcher with the Boomers after throwing 8.1 innings over six appearances and holding opponents to a .226 batting average as a senior.

With the additions of Bowling, Barrera and Duval, the Boomers officially have 20 players signed to contracts for the 2014 season. The latest additions will join outfielders Alexi Colon, Bobby Martin and Justin Vasquez; pitchers James Bierlein, Preston Hatcher, Clark Labitan, Matt Lamothe, Dexter Price, Erik Shannahan, Anthony Smith and Seth Webster; catchers Michael Valadez, Ty Nelson and Cody Coffman; and infielders Jordan Dean, Ryan Normoyle and Brian McConkey on what will be a maximum 34-man roster when Spring Training begins in late-April at Boomers Stadium in Schaumburg.

The snow can’t stay around forever because Opening Day 2014 is right around the corner, the time is now to reserve one of our great group locations for your summer outing with the Boomers! Season Tickets and Ticket Packages we call Boomer Bundles are also available now. For more information, visit www.boomersbasball.com or call 847.461.3695 today.

COMPLETE PLAYER BIOS

RHP CAL BOWLING

Bowling, 24, spent the past two seasons with the White Sox after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Ball State University. In 26 professional games, the six-foot-two right-hander owns a 5.23 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 41.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen.

A stellar 2010 junior season at Ball State propelled Bowling onto the radar for the Sox after he posted a 3.41 ERA over 14 starts and 89.2 innings, along with four complete games and a 5-5 record. Overall for his four-year collegiate career, Bowling appeared in 61 games with 45 starts and owns an 18-12 record. The Yorktown, Ind. native struck out 185 batters in 279.4 innings with a 4.86 ERA as a member of the Cardinals baseball team.

RHP GILBERT BARRERA

Barrera, 25, appeared in 43 games at Howard Payne University from 2008-2013, with an injury wiping out his entire 2009 season. As a senior in 2013, the lefty earned a 4.18 ERA in 11 starts to go along with 54 strikeouts in 51.2 innings of work. For his college career, Barrera owns a 6.77 ERA over the course of 147.2 collegiate innings and 30 starts with a 7-16 record and 140 strikeouts.

RHP MAX DUVAL

Duval, 22, will be a true rookie with the Boomers after splitting his college career between the University of Hawaii and Cuesta College, a junior college in San Luis Obispo California. At Hawaii, Duval appeared in 67 games as a position player with a 31 hits, 10 doubles and 21 runs batted in. Duval will be concentrating solely on being a pitcher with the Boomers after throwing 8.1 innings over six appearances and holding opponents to a .226 batting average.

At Cuesta College, Duval thrived as a corner infielder earning a .255/.305/.455 slash line in 22 games as a freshmen with those numbers jumping to .313/.453/.531 with 10 doubles, six homers and 36 RBI over 47 games as a sophomore in 2011.