The Northwoods League has announced the rosters for the 2015 Major League Dreams Showcase, which will be hosted by the Madison Mallards at Warner Park on Tuesday, August 4. Catcher Dempsey Grover (UC Santa Barbara) infielder Scott Schreiber (Nebraska), infielder Joe DeRoche-Duffin (UCONN), outfielder Cole Krzmarzick (Nevada), outfielder/RHP Matt Fiedler (Minnesota) and RHP Jake Sparger (Louisville) will represent the Honkers at the event.
Honkers coaches Trevor Hairgrove and Demetre Kokoris will also travel to Madison to assist Eau Claire manager Dale Varsho with the management of the team.
The annual Showcase will consist of a double-header featuring the top players from the Northwoods League who were selected by a panel of Major League Baseball Scouts. The players will participate in a day of workouts in front of scouts which will be followed by the double-header.
The first game will start at 4:05 p.m. and will match two teams featuring a mix of North and South Division players. The players on the visiting team in this game will come from St. Cloud, Kalamazoo, Thunder Bay, Willmar and Duluth. The home team will be made up of players from La Crosse, Waterloo, Mankato, Eau Claire and Rochester.
Duffin will be one of the bigger names at the Showcase after winning the 2015 NWL Home Run Contest. Duffin is currently hitting .250, and leads the Honkers and the North Division with nine home runs on the year.
Fiedler is one of two players in the Showcase listed as both a position player and a pitcher. The other is Anthony Gonsolin of the Madison Mallards. As an outfielder, Fiedler is leading the Honkers in hitting with a .331 average and is second on the team with five home runs. He has also made 10 appearances on the mound, six of them being starts, and sports a 4.64 ERA to go along with 40 stikeouts in 40.2 innings of work.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Northwoods League Foundation. The Northwoods League Foundation utilizes the game of baseball to enrich the quality of life for children and families with an enduring and caring focus on Northwoods League communities.
The Honkers next home game will be Wednesday, July 29th at 7:05 p.m. It will be the second half of a split double header with Waterloo. It will be Super Hero Night. Come to the game dressed as your favorite Super Hero and get free general admission.
All of the Honkers games can be found live on Sports Radio AM 1520 The Ticket with Clinton Cole. You can also listen for free at www.rochesterhonkers.com by clicking on the Listen to Games Live link. Live video streams of the games are available via the Northwoods league Live Stream, powered by Stretch Internet. To access, just visit www.northwoodsleague.com and click on the Watch Games Live link at the bottom of the page.
The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 22nd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2015, 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 120 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 (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (OAK). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website. For more information, visit www.rochesterhonkers.com
