Former ULM standout Bell $10,000 in HitTrax Open

MONROE, La. – Former ULM baseball player Chad Bell claimed the $10,000 prize Tuesday night in the HitTrax Open.

Bell, who is currently in the New York Yankees minor league system, defeated former Ragin’ Cajuns player and current St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer Todd Lott, 2-0 in a best-of-three championship match.

“Facing a guy in the finals that you know, especially with the talent Todd has, is always fun,” Bell said. “It makes it a little more competitive.”

The HitTrax Open was organized to pit 32 current minor league and independent league baseball players in a tournament using HitTrax technology and gaming. Players competed remotely in the hitting contest in batting cages equipped with HitTrax technology across the country.

Bell was the top seed in his portion of the bracket. In the opening round, he rolled past Wil Dalton, 22-2. He then defeated Kyle Schmidt, 29-8, to reach the quarterfinals, where he held off Robbie Tenerowicz-Byrd, 23-22. In the semifinals, individuals played a best-of-three matchup, with Bell defeating Michael Helman, 2-1.

“This tournament was really fun, and it was good to compete for a change,” Bell said. “It helped get my name out there even more and show what I can do. I can’t thank HitTrax and everyone else enough for putting this event on.”

Bell played three seasons for the Warhawks from 2017-19. The Fort Collins, Colorado, native set the ULM single-season home run record as a senior with 21 homers in 2019. In addition, he tallied 159 total bases to place second on the single-season list. He also had 61 RBIs to rank fourth on the single-season list. He was selected by the Yankees in the 19th round of the 2019 MLB Draft.

Bell played his first minor league season with the Pulaski Yankees, an advanced rookie league affiliate of the New York Yankees, in 2019. He played in 55 games, hitting .251 with five doubles, nine home runs and 41 RBIs.

This season, MLB organizations have been limited to 60 players on their active list, and minor league baseball has been shut down due to COVID-19. Bell said he’s still been working with the Yankees to get ready for the next time he can take the field.

“The biggest challenge during the COVID season is just not being able to showcase my skills since there is no baseball,” Bell said. “But fortunately, the Yankees staff has been in contact with us constantly and are trying to make the best of a bad situation. We send video back and forth a lot, so I’m still improving my game, but I would rather be on a field under the lights.”