Loggers Add a Pair from Washington, Pre-Season All-American from Sac City
Meggs & Bevacqua Bring Baseball Backgrounds to La Crosse, Bravo Carries on Sac City Tradition
LA CROSSE, WIS. – The La Crosse Loggers continued to build their roster for the upcoming 2014 season when team officials announced today that they have signed freshman Jack Meggs and Mitch Bevacqua from the University of Washington and sophomore utility man Jerrod Bravo from Sacramento City College. Logger fans will certainly recognize the Meggs name as Jack’s older brother, Joe, was a key cog in the Loggers 2012 run to their first Northwoods League Championship.
Like his older brother Joe, Jack is an outfielder, however he will bring speed and a left-handed bat with him to La Crosse. A 2012 Perfect Game High School honorable mention all-American, Meggs also played for the Kansas City Royals Area Code team. He also got a jump start on summer collegiate baseball last summer, when he competed for the Bellingham Belles of the West Coast Collegiate league and hit .213 over 108 at-bats, while ranking second on the team in extra base hits and stolen bases. Jack plays for his father, Lyndsey, at the University of Washington who believes that Jack brings a lot to the table. "Jack is a baseball player," Coach Meggs said. "He can play all three outfield spots, he can swing the bat and he can run the bases. Because he can handle the bat from the left side, Jack would be ideal in the leadoff spot or the two hole. Yet as hard as Jack plays and as talented as he is, the best thing about Jack is he's a winner. He will help us immediately.”
Joining Meggs from Washington is his teammate Mitch Bevacqua, who also comes from quite the baseball family himself. A 2012 Perfect Game Underclass honorable mention all-American, Bevacqua also earned all-state honors out of Lake City High School (Idaho) and played on the same Kansas City Royals Area Code team as Meggs before entering Washington this past fall. Mitch’s uncle, Kurt, played 15 seasons in the big leagues with six different teams, posting a career .236 batting average and a trip to the 1984 World Series with the San Diego Padres.
The Loggers also continued their on-going relationship with the Sacramento City College program by inking utility man Jerrod Bravo. Bravo led Sac City in nearly every offensive category as a freshman in 2013 when he hit .374 with a team-best 52 hits, nine doubles, three triples and 25 RBI’s along with drawing 18 bases on balls and being hit by a pitch 16 times. The 5-10, 200 pound sophomore was named a first-team all-conference selection a year ago and was tabbed as a pre-season California Community College all-American this spring.
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 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 (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), 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.