Infielder Stekl And Pitcher Stevenson To Join Wisconsin Rapids Rafters

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are excited to announce the signings of pitcher J.P. Stevenson and infielder Ryan Stekl, both from Canisius College out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

1B/3B – Ryan Stekl, 6’3” 218, (R/R), Junior, Canisius College

Versatile infielder, Ryan Stekl, will join the Rafters in 2017 after two successful years at Canisius College. This spring, Stekl has appeared in 12 games and posted a .354 batting average heading into the weekend series against Winthrop. The steady bat of Stekl started off red-hot in his freshman season in 2015. Following a year in which he batted .292, Stekl capped it off with some hardware, as he was named a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Freshman All-American. He finished the season with 38 RBIs in 61 starts. In 2016, Stekl hit .257 in 56 starts with a career-high 44 RBIs. The infielder played his high school baseball at Lancaster in New York. He was an integral piece in the 2014 Class AA championship, hitting .563 in the playoffs. He earned all-state honors three times during his prep career in addition to garnering All-ECIC first time in three straight years from 2012-14. Stekl also was strong on the mound with 108 career strikeouts during high school.

P – J.P. Stevenson, 6’3” 184, (L/L), Junior, Canisius College

Left-handed pitcher J.P. Stevenson will join Stekl on the Rafters roster in 2017. This spring he has posted a 3-0 record with a 0.93 ERA in three starts, spanning 19.1 innings on the mound. In his freshman season in 2015, Stevenson forced his way into the starting rotation after a strong fall and winter to get ready for his first year. During the season, he was a reliable starter who pitched 73 innings and struck out 69 batters. He owned an ERA of 4.81 in 18 appearances and 14 starts. Stevenson finished the year with a 7-4 record with three shutouts.  He finished his sophomore season with 36 strikeouts and allowed only 13 walks in 36.2 innings pitched. Before his time at Canisius, Stevenson played two years at Vauxhall Academy, and was a two-time member of Team Canada’s Junior National Team.

The season and home opener for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters is May 30th at 7:05 against the Kenosha Kingfish. Solarus Founders Club, bleacher 9-Game ticket packages, and group outing packages are on sale now. Call 715-424-5400 or stop by the Rafters Front Office Monday-Friday from 9-5 to purchase a ticket package or book a group outing.

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The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 24th season of summer collegiate baseball in 2017, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 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 160 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League Website.  For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com.