MONROE, La. - Former ULM
standout Boomer Blanchard is continuing his baseball career in the Canadian
American Association of Professional Baseball (Can-Am) for the Worcester
Tornadoes. Blanchard, who played second base and shortstop for the Warhawks,
signed a contract with the Tornadoes on Tuesday.
Blanchard, a native of New
Iberia, La., made an immediate impact for the Warhawks in 2009 after helping
LSU-Eunice win a pair of NJCAA World Series Championships. He was named the Sun
Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year after batting .351 with 10 doubles, 12
home runs and 38 RBIs in his first season at ULM. Blanchard also garnered
All-Sun Belt Second Team honors at second base as he had the second most hits (87), scored
the third most runs (71), had the fourth most at-bats (248) and had the seventh
most total bases (137) in a single-season in ULM history.
After being hampered with several nagging
injuries throughout his senior year, Blanchard finished his two-year career as
a .303 hitter for the Warhawks with 15 doubles, 13 home runs, 60 RBIs and 16
stolen bases. Blanchard was forced to miss the final 11 games of his senior
season after being hit on the hand by a pitch at Tulane. However, he would not
let that be his last play as a Warhawk - he scored the final run of the season
for ULM after he came in as a pinch runner against UL-Lafayette.
The history of the Can-Am
League dates back to 1936 when six teams were part of the Class C league. The
association continued until the 1942 season, but due to World War II the league
folded only to resurrect at the start of the 1946 season. The second
installment of the Can-Am League ended its run after the 1951 season due to the
rise of television and professional football. The league was resurrected for a
third time in 2004 and is one of the top independent leagues in professional
baseball.
The Can-Am League runs through
Sept. 6 and fans can keep up with Blanchard by visiting the Tornadoes website -
http://www.worcestertornadoes.com.
