Wausau, WIS. – With Opening Day less then four months away, the Wisconsin Woodchucks have announced their first two roster additions to the 2014 season in the newly renovated Athletic Park. The Woodchucks will continue the tradition of University of Arkansas baseball players playing in Wausau with the addition of left handed pitcher Zach Barr and right handed pitcher Alex Phillips. The University of Arkansas baseball team is ranked 25th in the Baseball America preseason rankings after coming off there 12th year advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Alex Phillips is freshman from Nacogdoches, Texas. The righthander was ranked in the top 500 recruits nationally and the 57th-best recruit in the state of Texas in the class of 2013 by Perfect Game … Named to 2012 Perfect Game preseason underclassmen All-American high honorable mention team … Selected first-team all-state as a junior and second-team all-state as a sophomore … Named to the state tournament all-tournament team as a sophomore … Has a 22-2 career record with a 1.28 ERA and 238 strikeouts in 159 innings pitched in his high school career … Posted a 10-1 record with a 1.22 ERA as a junior and a 12-1 record with a 1.35 ERA as a sophomore … At the plate, hit .417 with three homers and 21 RBI as a sophomore and .351 with six home runs and 40 RBI as a junior.
Zach Barr is a 6’3, 200 junior transfer from the University of Central Arkansas who Pitched in 13 games, 10 out of the bullpen, and had a 2-0 record with a 3.38 ERA as a sophomore in 2013 … Allowed only 12 hits in 16 innings of work, holding opponents to a .203 batting average … Pitched in nine games, including one start, as a freshman in 2012 and compiled a 1-0 record with a 1.84 ERA … Averaged more than a strikeout an inning, fanning 15 in 14.2 innings.
The Wisconsin Woodchucks 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 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 (NWL team website) (www.woodchucks.com).
