La Crosse, Wis. – The La Crosse Loggers front office announced today that Bill Sandillo has decided to step away from his post as field manager after one season citing health, business and family as the reasons why but will stay in contact with Loggers owner Dan Kapanke (who was diagnosed with Melanoma in 2007) as a personal consultant and advisor. The Loggers also announced today that long-time assistant Brian Lewis has been named as his replacement and will serve as the club’s field manager for the upcoming 2016 season.
The Loggers ownership and Sandillo reached this decision after considering the time and attention needed to operate Sandillo’s three baseball businesses and continue to monitor his health. Sandillo continues to receive treatment for Stage-4 Melanoma every three months. Sandillo was diagnosed with melanoma in July 2011 and has continued to beat and manage the effects of the disease.
In Sandillo’s one year as skipper he guided the Lumbermen to a 40-31 mark and a spot in the 2015 Northwoods League playoffs, the team’s first post-season appearance since they won the NWL Championship in 2012. The 40 wins marked the fourth highest win total in team history that was spearheaded by the most prolific offense in Loggers history. The 2015 Loggers set new single season team marks in batting average (.280), at-bats (2,420), runs scored (432), hits (678), doubles (127), triples (13), total bases (975, on-base percentage (.361) and slugging percentage (.403). The organization also produced their first ever league MVP in 2015 (Mason McCoy).
Kapanke, who provided housing for the Sandillo family during the 2015 season at his personal residence, stated, “I found Coach Sandillo to be a wonderful family man, a person of immense baseball knowledge and a man of character. I will miss seeing Bill in a Logger uniform.”
Taking the reigns as the new skipper for La Crosse is Brian Lewis, who is entering his fourth season with the club. Lewis is currently serving as an assistant coach at Viterbo University (La Crosse, Wisc.). Prior to joining the V-Hawks, Lewis served as the head coach of the La Crosse Central High School baseball program in during the 2014-2015 school year. Before moving to the La Crosse area, Lewis was the hitting coach at Illinois Central College, and an assistant coach at Lewis & Clark Community College from 2001-2011. The Alton, Ill. native also coached professionally in the Frontier League (Independent Pro) where he was director of baseball operations as well as the hitting coach for the River City Rascals from 2003-2006. Lewis’ summer collegiate experience dates back to the years 2001-2003 when he was the field manager of the Dubois County Bombers of the Prospect League. During his time in the coaching ranks, Lewis has coached four current and/or former major League players including Joe Thatcher, Cory Wade, Jeff Gray, and Justin Christian.
Ted Falkner is also returning for his second season as an assistant coach for the Lumbermen and third season in the Northwoods League. Falkner took over the V-Hawks baseball program beginning the fall of 2014 and is in the midst of his second season as the head coach of the V-Hawks in 2016.
Prior to joining Viterbo, Falkner spent the better part of the last 10 years coaching in the NAIA. He spent five years as an assistant coach at Madonna University from 2007-10 and 2012-14. During that time as a hitting coach, he helped the Crusaders to 190 wins, three seasons of hitting at least .300, and four Wolverine-Hoosier Athletics Conference Championships. For the 2011 and 2012 baseball seasons, Falkner was an assistant at Ashford University and helped the Saints to 43 wins in two years. Prior to his time at Ashford and Madonna, Falkner began his coaching career at Concordia University Ann Arbor in 2003. Falkner was a member of the Cardinals' coaching staff for four seasons.
In addition to his experience at the collegiate level, Falkner has worked with a plethora of other programs. In the summer of 2004, he was assistant coach in charge of hitting for the Lake Erie Monarchs, a member of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. Then in 2010, Falkner spent the summer working as an assistant coach for infielders for the Thunder Bay Border Cats of the Northwoods Collegiate League.
Jacob Jarreau (Ja-Ru) will also join coaches Lewis and Falkner in the Loggers dugout as he embarks on his first stint in the Northwoods League. Jarreau has been working as the student manager at the University of New Mexico since 2012. Jarreau has also spent the past three summers working as a camp instructor at the Lobo baseball camps in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Ruidoso, New Mexico. Jarreau will coach first base this summer and work with the Loggers outfielders.
The Loggers will open their 2016 season on the road on May 31, 2016 when they travel to Kenosha to take on the defending NWL Champions. The 2016 home opener is then set for Thursday, June 2 when the Loggers welcome the St. Cloud Rox to the Lumber Yard for a 7:05 p.m. contest.
The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Preparing for its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com.
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