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2024 La Crosse Loggers Baseball There ’ s No Place Like Copeland
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WI , in which MLB Scouts choose 4 teams of the Top 100 Prospects in the Northwoods League to compete in a doubleheader . To top off the historic season , the affiliated Cedar Rapids Kernals of the Class A , Midwest League , purchased the Waterloo Bucks .
2015 Early in the 2015 Summer Season the Northwoods League made its presence felt across the amateur baseball world as 194 current players and alumni were chosen in the MLB First-Year Player Draft . The League led all Summer Collegiate leagues in attendance , once again , as over 1.1 Million fans went through the turnstiles despite a rainy June . 16 of 18 teams used a ticketing system developed by and for use by the Northwoods League , giving fans an unparalleled buying experience online and at the box office . The League partnered with Stretch Internet to provide fans with a video subscription service as over 2,200 fans subscribed to experience over 50,000 viewing sessions of Northwoods League games and the 4-camera video production that exists in all 18 parks . The Northwoods League Studio continued to produce pre and post-game shows nightly on YouTube and also produce “ Northwoods League Now ”, a monthly news magazine aired on Fox Sports North / Midwest during the summer . The second-year Kenosha Kingfish stole the show on and off the field in 2015 as they took home the Summer Collegiate World Series title while selling out 30 of 36 home dates . Led by former MLB player and manager Duffy Dyer , the Kingfish won both halves of the ultra-competitive South Division before winning two elimination games and sweeping the North Division Champion , St . Cloud Rox , who finished with a league best 49-23 record , in the Summer Collegiate World Series . In a karmic coincidence , Dyer had won the Midwest League Championship as manager of the Kenosha Twins in 1985 , exactly thirty years prior . At the Northwoods League All-Star game held in Wisconsin Rapids , WI , the hometown Rafters put on a great show , before a sold-out crowd of 2006 fans , as the South beat the North , 3-1 . Eric Filia ( UCLA ) of the Kenosha Kingfish was the “ Star of Stars ” scoring a couple of runs in the victory . In an exciting Home Run Derby won by the North 22-21 , Joe DeRoche-Ruffin ( University of Connecticut ) of the Rochester Honkers , won the individual trophy with eight home runs in one inning ( 6 outs ). Coincidentally , Jeff Campbell ( University of North Dakota ), a former Rochester Honker , won the championship of the College Home Run Derby earlier in the month . The previous night ’ s banquet speaker was outgoing Milwaukee Brewers GM , Doug Melvin , who had a great message for the All-Stars . Mason McCoy , signed as a temporary player , won League MVP honors . McCoy , headed to the University of Iowa , set All-Time records for hits in a season ( 112 ) and runs scored ( 80 ) while leading the League in hitting with a . 367 batting average for the La Crosse Loggers . Alex Hermeling ( Louisiana- Monroe ) of the Battle Creek Bombers won Pitcher of the Year honors with a 3-3 record , striking out 52 batters in 53.2 innings pitched , walking only 12 batters and giving up 33 hits behind his 1.17 ERA . He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers immediately after the All-Star game . The 3rd annual “ Major League Dreams Showcase ” featured a double-header with the top 100 players in the Northwoods League as chosen by MLB Scouts before a crowd of 4,341 in Madison , WI . The Northwoods League continued to evolve as the Alexandria Blue Anchors playing in the smallest market in the League in Alexandria , MN folded operations . The League immediately moved into the vacated Rockford , IL market as the Independent Frontier League ceased operations , allowing the Northwoods League to now have teams in five states and two countries for the 2016 season . Prior to year-end , the League signed a lease to begin play in Bismarck , ND in 2017 .
2016 The talent level of the Northwoods League continued to escalate as evidenced by the early summer MLB First- Year Player Draft . Five current players and alumni were chosen in the 1st round , led by sixth overall pick , A . J . Puk , of the University of Florida and the Waterloo Bucks . The Northwoods League ’ s Bucks also had two additional pitchers taken in the 1st round , meaning their 2014 pitching staff featured three future 1st round draft picks . Fiftysix players and alumni were chosen in the first 10 Rounds as part of 176 players and alumni taken in the 2016 Draft . In August , T . J . Friedl of the University of Nevada-Reno was plucked from the St . Cloud Rox roster , signing the largest undrafted free-agent contract in the history of MLB as he received a reported $ 738,000 from the Cincinnati Reds . Friedl promptly hit two-home runs in his first two professional at-bats and went on to hit . 347 for the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League . Continuing its leadership in technology development at the lower levels