Robbie Gilles (Photo courtesy High Point athletics)

Pilots land a pair of first and third basemen

The Newark Pilots of the newly formed Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) have inked four players to their roster for the upcoming season. First basemen Robbie Gilles and Randy Villa will join third basemen Matt Vera and Nick Parent for the Pilots' inaugural season, which begins on June 9th on the road against the Watertown Wizards.

Robbie Gilles grew up just south of Newark in the city of Geneva, where he played at DeSales High School. He was named a Finger Lakes West All-Star on five occasions, and in 2007 he hit 18 doubles, the second highest single season total in Section V history. Now a junior at High Point University in North Carolina, he has appeared in 26 games so far this season. He currently has a .507 on-base percentage with a .250 batting average, 12 runs, 11 hits and six RBIs. Gilles' father Robert was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the eighth round of the 1980 MLB Draft.

Also manning first base for the Pilots will be Randy Villa. Villa is a sophomore at San Joaquin Delta College in California. He has started 28 games, recording a .216 batting average. He also notched 22 hits, 20 RBIs, 14 runs, and eight stolen bases. Villa helped his Delta Mustangs earn the fourth seed in the Northern Regional Championship of the California Community College Athletic Association. Villa is a graduate of Pleasant Grove High School.

Villa's teammate with the Delta Mustangs is third baseman Matt Vera. In his freshman season, Vera has appeared in 16 games, batting .243 with nine hits, six RBIs, and three doubles.  In his senior campaign at Tokay High School, he was named the Tri-City Athletic League MVP, batting .667 with 20 RBIs and three home runs inside league play.

Also at the "hot corner" for Newark this season will    be Nick Parent. Parent is a redshirt freshman at the University of California Santa Barbara. During his senior season at Foothill High School, he drove in 30 runs and hit five homeruns, earning all-league honors. Parent's father Mark is the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies Double-A affiliate Reading Phillies, and played 13 seasons in the MLB after being drafted by the San Diego Padres in the fourth round of the 1979 MLB Draft.

The Newark Pilots open at the newly refurbished Colburn Park on Friday, June 17th at 7:05 p.m. Single game tickets for all 2011 games are on sale now. The Pilots also have a limited amount of reserved season seats that are available for the 2011 season. Anyone who is interested should call Pat Brown at 315-576-6710 or check out the team's website at www.newarkpilots.com.