Battle Creek, MI – The Battle Creek Bombers made the signing of two freshman from Ohio University official Thursday. Alex Kuster and Brett Manis, both freshman left-handed pitchers, will join the Bombers for the 2018 season. The two Bobcats are the latest additions on the OnStaff Group Recruiting Trail.
LHP – Alex Kuster, 6’1” (L/L) Freshman, Ohio University
Kuster comes to Battle Creek from Ohio U. by way of Brother Rice High School in Lake Orion, Michigan. His best seasons at Brother Rice came as a sophomore and junior. In the 2015 and 2016 seasons, Kuster did not lose on the mound. He went 16-0 with seven saves, leading Brother Rice to a Catholic League title and a district championship in both seasons. At the club level, Kuster competed for A. Green Baseball and was nothing short of excellent. In 51.1 innings pitched, he compiled a 1.50 ERA, 1.0005 WHIP, and a .206 BAA while striking out 71 and walking just 17 batters. Kuster’s performance led to him being ranked the sixth-best left-handed pitcher and the 38 th -best player in Michigan by Prep Baseball Report.
In his first appearance for Ohio, Kuster pitched one scoreless inning in a 10-2 victory over Rider. He gave up just one hit and struck out one batter as well. Outside of baseball, Kuster was an honor roll student at Brother Rice. He was also a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. At Ohio University, he is majoring in civil engineering.
OF – Brett Manis, 5’11” (R/L) Freshman, Ohio University
Manis had a stellar career at Port Huron Northern High School in Port Huron, Michigan. He earned all-district and All-Malcomb Area Conference MVP honors as just a sophomore in 2015. He was an all-MAC pitcher in each of his last three seasons with Port Huron Northern. Manis followed up his MVP sophomore season with a 7-3 record and a 1.66 ERA his junior year, which included a no-hitter. He also recorded 110 strike outs while walking just 11 in his junior campaign. All of this led to Manis being ranked the fourth-best left-handed pitcher and 32 nd -best player in Michigan by Prep Baseball Report.
Outside of baseball, Manis was a member of the National Honors Society at Port Huron Northern. He enjoys fishing, golfing and ping pong when not on the mound.
Ohio University began their 2018 season 2-2 in a four-game series against Rider in Lexington, South Carolina. Kuster and Manis both hope to make an impact on the mound as freshman before heading to Battle Creek this summer.
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The Battle Creek Bombers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 185 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.battlecreekbombers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Bombers as your favorite team.
