Media Guide 2024 | Page 71

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2024 La Crosse Loggers Baseball There ’ s No Place Like Copeland

the league to enhance the webcasts of the games on NorthwoodsLeague . tv . A Virtual Guide allowed for all NWL fans to learn about the league in a new , tech friendly way . NWL Fantasy Baseball provided a new way for fans to follow the Northwoods League and its alumni while having a chance to win part of $ 2,000 in prizes . The 2010 NWL Playoffs saw the Rochester Honkers take on the St . Cloud Rox in the North Division Playoffs and the Eau Claire Express face the Wisconsin Woodchucks in the South Division . Rochester made the playoffs by winning the North Division 1st Half while the St . Cloud Rox won the 2nd Half . Eau Claire won both the 1st and 2nd Half South Division titles and the Wisconsin Woodchucks were the South Division Playoff representative as they finished 2nd overall in the South Division . The Summer Collegiate World Series pitted the Eau Claire Express versus the Rochester Honkers . The Eau Claire Express , managed by NWL Manager of the Year Dale Varsho , beat the Honkers in the three-game series to earn the title ‘ Northwoods League Champions ’ for the first time in franchise history . The Express earned ‘ Summer League Team of the Year ’ by Perfect Game Baseball as they finished the season 52-24 . All-Star festivities in July consisted of a banquet at Florian Gardens in Eau Claire , home run derby , professional scout workout , All-Star game and post-game fireworks . The banquet featured former Minnesota Twin and Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew . The home run derby was won by Duluth Huskie Mark Threlkeld ( Louisiana Tech ) with nine home runs in the in the three-round format . Threlkeld beat Madison Mallard Kyle Gaedele ( Valparaiso ) in the final round . Nearly 4,000 fans witnessed the 2010 All-Star game at Carson Park , home of the Eau Claire Express . NWL fans in attendance saw a great game that ended in a North Division 7-5 win thanks to the ‘ Star of Stars ’ Cody Asche ( Nebraska ) of the Duluth Huskies who went 2-for-4 with two RBI on the night . Individual postseason awards were dominated by two teams , the Eau Claire Express and St . Cloud Rox . Dale Varsho was awarded ‘ Manager of the Year ’ while Eau Claire Express Assistant Coach Shawn Peck was given ‘ Coach of the Year ’. The St . Cloud Rox had both the ‘ Player of the Year ’ and ‘ Pitcher of the Year ’. Shortstop Steve Nyisztor ( Rutgers ) won ‘ Most Valuable Player ’ after finishing in the top-10 in hits ( 85 ), RBI ( 56 ), homeruns ( 8 ), triples ( 6 ) and at-bats ( 278 ). The athletic shortstop was also named NWL Top Prospect by Baseball America . Teammate Jason Wheeler ( Loyola Marymount ) won ‘ Pitcher of the Year ’ while leading the league with an 8-1 record and a 1.35 ERA . The lanky lefty held opponents under a . 200 batting average and led the league in strikeouts with 74 .
2011 The 2011 Season saw many more Northwoods League records broken as the League became the first Summer- Collegiate League to draw over 900,000 fans to its parks as five teams set attendance records . Andrew Knapp ( California ) led the League in hitting with a . 400 batting average , becoming the first player to hit . 400 in a season since the ‘ 90 ’ s and Shaun Cooper ( Utah ) hit 20 Home Runs to set the League record while hitting 36 more during a fantastic power display to win the Northwoods League All-Star Game Home Run Derby . Cooper also had 63 RBI , set the Northwoods League record for Total Bases with 163 , stole 15 bases and had a slugging percentage of . 675 in one of the most productive summer-collegiate seasons in history , leading the Mankato MoonDogs to the Summer Collegiate World Series versus the eventual Northwoods League Champions , the Battle Creek Bombers . The Alexandria Beetles and Green Bay Bullfrogs were runners-up in the North and South Divisions , respectively . The Bombers won their first Championship behind the leadership of former Major-Leaguer , Donnie Scott , who came to the team after having a very successful run as a Minor League manager in the Cincinnati Reds organization . The Bombers won both halves of the South Division season , winning 11 straight games to end the season with a 47-26 overall record . Daniel Rockett ( UT-San Antonio ) led the Bombers in the playoffs as the flashy centerfielder hit four home runs to add to his eight during the regular season , along with 53 RBI , second in the League to Cooper . Dan Olinger ( Minnesota ) of the Brainerd Lunkers won the All-Star game MVP award , perhaps inspired by All-Star guest speaker , Hall-of-Famer and University of Minnesota alum , Paul Molitor . The game was played in front of a capacity crowd at second-year entry Wisconsin Rapids ’ Witter Field , a former Minnesota Twins affiliate facility in the Midwest League . The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft saw another record 174 Northwoods League players and Alums chosen by Major League teams . Chris Reed ( Stanford ), a left-handed pitcher from the Wisconsin Woodchucks was the 16th player taken overall . This was the eighth consecutive year a Northwoods League player had been taken in the first round or compensation round . 40 Northwoods League players or alums were taken in the Top Ten Rounds . 467 Northwoods League players and alumni had been chosen in the last three

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