Former Georgia Southern baseball pitcher Dennis Dove got the call to the Major Leagues on Monday. Dove was called up from Triple-A Memphis to the St. Louis Cardinals following the tragic death of relief pitcher Josh Hancock.

Dove joined the defending World Champions in Milwaukee for their current three-game road series against the Brewers. He made his first appearance Monday night (April 30), pitching a scoreless seventh inning. Dove gave up one hit and struck out one.

Head coach Rodney Hennon is excited for his former pitcher, but understands how difficult of a time it is for the Cardinals organization.

“We’re very excited for Dennis. He has worked very hard and this is a great opportunity for him. Obviously this is a difficult time for the Cardinals organization with Josh Hancock tragically dying in a Sunday morning car accident. We wish Dennis and the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization the very best during this trying time.”

Dove finished last year in Double-A, and was one of the Cardinals’ final cuts during Spring Training.  He posted a 3.00 ERA in nine games (12 innings) at Memphis, striking out seven to six walks. Over his last four outings Dove has been especially tough, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings and fanning five.

Dove's arrival is another testament to the value of Spring Training. Like fellow recent call-up Kelvin Jimenez, Dove was one of the most pleasant surprises of Spring Training.

"He's on the roster, and it could be a short-term thing if Chris [Carpenter] does come back," La Russa said. "He did make a good impression [in the spring], so it's a great opportunity for him to get his feet wet in the big leagues."

La Russa acknowledged that it's a unique challenge for a player to be called up in response to a death. But he pointed out that it's not unusual for "the call" to occur following some sort of misfortune.

"I mentioned it to him," La Russa said. "That's out of his control. It's a dramatic example, but if somebody gets hurt and you get called up, all you can do is just take the assignment and do the best you can with it."

Dove played at Georgia Southern from 2001-03. During those three years he recorded 290 career strikeouts, fourth among the all-time Georgia Southern leaders. He is still tied for 10th making 45 career starts. Dove posted a career 22-9 record and 3.97 ERA at Georgia Southern, helping the Eagles to 120 wins and two NCAA Regional appearances in that span.