LOVES PARK, Ill. – Two members of Chicago State University’s baseball program will be joining the Rockford Rivets this summer. 

The Stateline’s Northwoods League team announced on Wednesday that it has signed catcher Cody Freund and pitcher Jake Perkins for the summer season. 

“Jake and Cody come to us with high recommendation from the Chicago State coaching staff,” Rivets manager Brian Smith said. “Pitching coach John Ely (a former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher) and I talk regularly about Jake. Hopefully when Jake gets away for the summer he will be able to relax, have more time to work on his craft and be a major contributor to our pitching staff.”

Perkins, a junior from Huntley, is 2-5 with a 6.38 earned-run average in nine starts. Freund, a sophomore from McHenry, is hitting .236 with a home run and a team-high 20 RBI.

“Cody had a very successful freshman campaign in 2015,” Smith said. “Cody's lefthanded bat allows us to create a very lefty-heavy lineup on certain occasions. He has a very simple approach at the plate. His simplistic approach should help him transition to the NWL very nicely."

Rockford is a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League, which will play its 23rd season of summer collegiate baseball in 2016. 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 140 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox), Jordan Zimmermann (Detroit Tigers), Curtis Granderson (New York Mets), Lucas Duda (Mets) and Ben Zobrist (Chicago Cubs). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website, NorthwoodsLeague.com.