(Rochester, Minn.)— The Rochester Honkers Baseball Club announced today the signing of two pitchers from Stevens Institute of Technology. Jayson Yano and Greg Jakusik will be the first two from the Stevens Ducks to ever become a Honker.
Yano is a 6-foot, 185-pound right-handed junior from Foothill Ranch, Calif. He finished his sophomore season 5-3 with a 1.62 ERA. In his 9 starts, Yano pitched 50 innings, allowing only nine earned runs and striking out 46. He led the Ducks pitching staff in wins, starts, and innings, and was second in strikeouts. Also a versatile infielder, Yano led the team with his .342 average. He was #1 in the nation in “Toughest to Strikeout”, fanning only once in 169 plate appearances.
Yano played for the Newark Pilots of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) last summer where he earned 3rd Team Summer Collegiate All-American status, the only Division III player on the list. He finished the summer 6-2 with a 1.35 ERA in 53.1 innings of work. He was named the PGCBL Pitcher of the Year and the league’s 30th best prospect. Yano is majoring in Quantitative Finance at Stevens.
Jakusik is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior left hander from The Woodlands, Texas. He finished his sophomore campaign 2-3 with a 2.74 ERA. He struck out a team-high 54 batters in 46.0 innings of work and held opponents to a .230 batting average against.
Jakusik played his 2014 summer ball for the Silver Spring-Takoma Park Thunderbolts of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. He finished his summer campaign with a 2-3 with a 2.78 ERA. In his 45.1 innings of work (6th most in the league), Jakusik tallied 28 strikeouts. He is pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree at Stevens.
The Rochester Honkers 22nd season begins on May 26th when the Mankato MoonDogs bark into Mayo Field for a 7:05pm first pitch. Season Tickets, Bonus Books, Suites and Patios are now available. Call the Rochester Honkers office at 507-289-1170 for more information. The Honkers are also looking for host families for the 2015 season and ask all interested parties to call the business office for more information.
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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 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 (BOS) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.rochesterhonkers.com.