Team News

Chicago, Ill. – July 3, 2014 – The Midwest Collegiate League’s brightest stars will be on display in the 2014 Midwest Collegiate League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 9 at Oil City Stadium. For the fourth straight year, a mid-summer showcase will allow professional scouts to get a first-hand look at the league’s premiere talent.

The DuPage County Hounds will be represented by pitchers Pat Bellinger (Tiffin University), Matt Frawley (Purdue University) and Pat Cashman (Southern Louisiana University). Hounds infielders Richie Gorski (University of Illinois), Connor Kopach (Southern Illinois University-Carbondale), Brian Lees (University of Akron), and outfielders Drew LaComb (Mesa Community College) and Alex Cain (Eastern Illinois University) have also received All-Star honors. LaComb leads the team in batting average at .353, while Bellinger holds a 0.43 ERA.

The 2014 All-Star Game will be held at Oil City Stadium, the home of the Northwest Indiana Oilmen. The All-Star Game is making its third trip to Northwest Indiana in league history after previously being held at Oil City Stadium in 2011 and 2013.

The South All-Stars roster is comprised of players from the Oilmen, Southland Vikings and Lexington Snipes, while the North All-Stars roster is made up of players from the DuPage County Hounds, Chicago Zephyrs and Joliet Admirals.

The South All-Star squad will be managed by Chris Cunningham, who guided the Vikings to the Midwest Collegiate League championship last season. The North will be led by Sean Osborne, the manager of the first-place DuPage County Hounds.

The Southland Vikings will be represented by pitchers Brandon White (Hill College), Kevin Hallberg (Grand Valley State University), Dan Wetzel (St. Xavier University) and Anthony Spangler (Purdue Calumet), infielders Bobby Sheppard (University of Buffalo) and Jeff Boehm (University of Illinois-Chicago) and outfielders Dan Potempa (University of Iowa) and Brandon Mallder (Northern Illinois University). In addition, catcher Alex Lugo (Western Oklahoma State College) has claimed a spot on the All-Star roster. Sheppard is hitting a robust .446 with a team-high 14 runs batted in this season, while Potempa has launched four home runs. Spangler has not allowed an earned run all season.

The Northwest Indiana Oilmen will have four pitchers and four position players on the South roster. Pitchers Cameron Linck (Hill College), Keith Mahler (Heartland Community College), Jimmy McNamara (Central Michigan University) and Matt Pobereyko (Kentucky Wesleyan University) will be joined by outfielders Craig Dedelow (Indiana) and Jason Gasser (Northern Illinois) and infielders Nate Schneider (Western Michigan) and Ryan Burvan (Purdue University) on the roster. Pobereyko is the all-time Midwest Collegiate League saves leader and has eight this season, while no other pitcher in the league has more than one.

The Lexington Snipes will send infielders Chris Maranto (Butler), Reed Rodgers (Heartland Community College) and Adam Casson (Eastern Illinois University), outfielders Eric Phillis (Kankakee Community College) and Ryan Frye (Evangel University) and catcher Jake Capko (Illinois Wesleyan University) to Oil City Stadium next week. In addition, the Snipes will be represented by pitchers Brett Fanning (Upper Iowa University), Kyle Weller (Parkland Community College), John Munyon (Illinois Wesleyan University) and Matthew James (University of Illinois). James, who will be unavailable to pitch in the All-Star Game, hurled the second no-hitter in Midwest Collegiate League history early this season and is also a prolific offensive player with a .397 batting average.

The North roster includes eight members of the Joliet Admirals. Pitchers Quinn Ahern (Northern Iowa Area Community College), Ryan VanVolkenburg (Maryville University), Brian Donley (University of Dallas), Brock Borgeson (Simpson College) and Steve Waldrop (Morehead State) will all participate in the game. Infielders Justin Kovalsky (Benedictine University) and Alec Barnhart (St. Xavier University) and outfielder Jeff Evak (Purdue) are also on the North squad. Kovalsky leads the team in batting average at .350, while Evak is the biggest Admirals power threat with two home runs and eight RBIs.

The DuPage County Hounds will be represented by pitchers Pat Bellinger (Tiffin University), Matt Frawley (Purdue University) and Pat Cashman (Southern Louisiana University). Hounds infielders Richie Gorski (University of Illinois), Connor Kopach (Southern Illinois University-Carbondale) and outfielders Drew LaComb (Mesa Community College) and Alex Cain (Eastern Illinois University) have also received All-Star honors. LaComb leads the team in batting average at .353, while Bellinger holds a 0.43 ERA.

The Chicago Zephyrs will have pitchers Ben Krusen (North Central College) and Kyle Cliff (Limestone College), catcher Brent Minta (Taylor University), infielders Andy Jaskolski (Carthage College), Drew Bailey (Carthage College), Greg Sidor (Illinois State University) and John Brodner (Wright State) and outfielder Bobby Smith (Waubonsee Community College) competing in the All-Star Game. Krusen leads the pitching staff in strikeouts with 35, while Brodner is the high-man in the RBI department with eight.

The Midwest Collegiate League All-Star Game will take place on Wednesday, July 9 at Oil City Stadium with the first pitch slated for 7:30 p.m. Fifty percent of the revenue from all tickets sales will benefit the family of Bryce Nowakowski, the son of Calumet College of St. Joseph head baseball coach Brian Nowakowski. Bryce, age one, is currently fighting for his life and waiting for a heart transplant.