LA CROSSE, WIS. –The La Crosse Loggers Baseball Club announced Wednesday the signing of four right-handed pitchers from Division I programs to full-season contracts. Jared Freilich (Penn State University), Gabriel Levy (Davidson College), Jacob Little (Texas State University), and Clayton Nettleton (University of Iowa) will join the Loggers pitching staff for the 2019 season.
Jared Freilich is a redshirt sophomore transfer from Worcester, Massachusetts that attended Polk State College in 2018 after spending one year as a redshirt at the University of Kentucky. Freilich appeared in 27 games at Polk State, entering out of the bullpen in 25 and tossing 38.1 innings on the season. The 6-foot-6 right-hander posted a 3.99 ERA and struck out 38 batters while collecting three saves. Jared achieved a very unique path to becoming a collegiate athlete as he was forced to miss two high school seasons after fracturing his spine in two places. The future Nittany Lion enrolled at Williston Northampton School during his return from injury and finished the 2016 season with 43 strikeouts in 30.0 innings of work, allowing just 13 hits with a 2.05 ERA.
Gabriel Levy joins the Loggers as a freshman from Davidson College. Levy is a native of Seattle, Washington and attended Ingraham High School where he earned First Team All-Conference and was named to the Pacific Northwest Regional team as a senior. The 6-foot-0 right-hander is ranked as the No. 59 overall prospect and No. 18 RHP in the state of Washington by Perfect Game. Levy has made one appearance in the young season for the Wildcats, throwing 3.0 shutout innings and picking up the save in his first collegiate game.
Junior transfer Jacob Little will join La Crosse after a redshirt season at Texas State University. The Salado, Texas native played two seasons at Temple College, going a combined 8-5 in 41 appearances and striking out 66 over 69.1 innings. Little was dominant in his freshman season, collecting nine saves with a 1.42 ERA as the Leopards’ closer. The hard throwing right-hander will play for Texas State next season, the alma mater of six-time MLB All-Star and three-time Gold Glover Paul Goldschmidt.
Clayton Nettleton is a Davenport, Iowa native that is in the midst of his freshman season at the University of Iowa. The 6-foot-2 right-hander earned First Team All-State, First Team All-District, and First Team All-Conference recognition as a senior at Davenport West High School after posting a 1.80 ERA and 103 strikeouts. Perfect Game ranks Nettleton as the No. 3 overall prospect and No. 2 RHP in the state of Iowa. He is also listed as the No. 14 freshman in the Big Ten, tossing 1.0 shutout inning for the Hawkeyes so far this season.
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The La Crosse Loggers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 25-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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, over 200 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (MIA). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.lacrosseloggers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Loggers as your favorite team.