Dayton dragons

Dragons call up former RedHawks standout

Former Miami University star Tommy Nurre was called up to the Dayton Dragons on Tuesday, May 11.

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By Greg Billing, Staff Writer Updated 1:13 AM Wednesday, May 12, 2010

DAYTON — Good news doesn’t often come in the middle of the night, unless you’re a minor-league baseball player.

So when Tommy Nurre — the newest member of the Dayton Dragons — found out just after midnight on Tuesday, May 11, that he’d been promoted, he of course wanted to share the news with his parents, Tom and Karen.

“I told (my mom) I was going home,” said Nurre, a former Miami University standout and graduate of St. Xavier High School. “Her first reaction was, ‘Oh, you got released.’ When I told her I was going to Dayton she was excited, woke my dad up and she made calls to the rest of my family.”

Nurre, 23, left the Cincinnati Reds spring training facility in Goodyear, Ariz., early Tuesday morning and arrived at Fifth Third Field around 5:30 p.m.

Before Dayton’s 7-3 win over Fort Wayne on Tuesday, Dragons manager Todd Benzinger said he was going to give the first baseman time to settle in before playing him.

Chris Richburg has started 30 of 32 games at first for the Dragons and entered Tuesday’s game among the team leaders in runs (13), hits (30), doubles (9), homers (4) and total bases (53).

“He’s deserving of being here and I know I’m going to do everything I can to get him at-bats,” said Benzinger, who coached Nurre with the college summer league’s Cincinnati Steam in 2008.

“It’ll be a little bit of thinking because he plays first base and probably our best hitter thus far is our first baseman. We’ll find a way to get him in there.”

Nurre, picked by the Reds in the 38th round of the 2009 draft, hit .224 with five doubles, five homers and 13 RBIs in 116 at-bats with Billings last season. His career batting average at Miami was .374, second in school history to former Reds infielder Chris Sexton.

Should he hear any boos at Fifth Third Field, Nurre knows not to take it personally. Dayton high school baseball fans — more specifically Centerville Elks followers — might remember Nurre’s name from when St. Xavier beat Centerville in the regional semifinals in 2004.

“That’s fine by me,” Nurre said with a wide grin. “Cincinnati and Dayton sports are good for high school rivalries.”

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