La Crosse, Wis. – The La Crosse Loggers baseball club bolstered their 2014 roster today with the signing of a trio of talented players from UC-Santa Barbara in two-way threat Robby Nesovic, catcher Dempsey Grover and pitcher Brandon Luper.
Nesovic burst onto the collegiate scene in a big way this past spring when he garnered the All-Big West Freshman of the Year and All-Big West Honorable Mention honors for his efforts both on the mound and at the plate. The 6-4, 220 pound right-hander ranked third on the team with nine starts while compiling a 4-4 record and a 5.02 ERA over 57.1 innings pitched. At the plate, Nesovic led the Guachos with a .326 batting average while totaling four home runs and 33 RBI’s over 187 at-bats hitting behind former Logger Tyler Kuresa. Nesovic was also named to the 2013 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team by Collegiate Baseball and to Baseball America’s Freshman All-American second team.
Joining Nesovic will be his battery mate as the Loggers have also secured freshman catcher Dempsey Grover for the 2014 season. The Modesto, Calif. native earned all-league, all-district and all-state honors in high school before going out to compete in the West Coast Collegiate League this past summer where he continued to impress. While there, Grover hit .324 with four homers and 22 RBI’s over 74 at-bats and was named as the league’s 13th best prospect by Perfect Game.
UC-Santa Barbara head coach Andrew Checketts certainly has high praise for his newest backstop. "Dempsey has tremendous strength and athleticism," Checketts affirmed. "He brings middle of the order potential along with great catch-and-throw abilities. His well-rounded character makes him a great addition to our program."
Freshman right-hander Brandon Luper will join teammates Nesovic and Grover in La Crosse next summer, but 2014 won’t be his first taste of summer collegiate baseball either. Following a decorated career at Esperenza High School in Yorba Linda, Calif., Luper also competed in the West Coast Collegiate League this past summer where he excelled. The 6-2, right-hander went 1-0 with a miniscule 0.60 ERA over 15.1 innings while notching two saves over nine appearances.
The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized summer collegiate 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 MLB All-Stars Max Scherzer (DET), Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYY), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com.