Bremerton’s BlueJacket Baseball Club, a Class A minor league franchise scheduled to begin play in 2005 recently announced the hiring of its first head coach, Matt Acker.
   The BlueJackets will play at the newly remodeled and upgraded ball field at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds.

Acker is also the head baseball coach at Green River Community College, a position he has held since 2001 He previously served as head assistance/recruiting coordinator for Saint Martin’s College in Lacey before accepting the head-coaching job at Green River. He has also been head coach for the minor league Triple Play Hornets and Riptide Baseball Clubs.

During his tenure at Green River, Acker has had seven players sign a National Letter of Intent to play college baseball at four-year schools and has coached three players now playing professional baseball. One of those players, David Riske is a relief pitcher and was the closer for the Cleveland Indians — ironically, earning a save against the Mariners this past July.

Another young man is playing in the Colorado Rockies organization and the third with the Cincinnati Reds. A total of eight players coached by Acker have been drafted by the major leagues.

Steve Stegner, spokesman for the club which is owned by a group of local business people, stated, “We are happy to have Matt join our organization. His talents and coaching experience bring a high level of credibility to the ball club. His connections to the college coaching ranks and professional scouts will be a valuable asset in recruiting the top college prospects throughout the country.”
Acker will be recruiting assistant coaches over the next several months and can be reached at 360-491-8965 or macker@greenriver.edu.
For information about the BlueJacket Baseball Club contact Stagner at 360-874-8405 or 360-710-9860.