Maddox Mihalakis from the Rivets tops the baseball list with .429 average and Paige Zender from Mankato is tops in softball at .417
Rochester, Minn. – The Northwoods League is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Rawlings hitting awards for both baseball and softball. This award is given to the player at each position who had the best batting average during the 2024 regular season.
Rockford Rivets third baseman Maddox Mihalakis leads the baseball list of award winners. Mihalakis led the league with an impressive .429 batting average. Paige Zender of the Mankato Habaneros had the highest average in NWL Softball hitting .417 helping to lead the Habaneros to the Championship in the first year of NWL Softball.
Rawlings has been rewarding the top hitters in Northwoods League Baseball since 2007. This is the first year that Northwoods League Softball hitters are also receiving this award. To honor their achievement, the nine award winners in each league will receive a trophy from Rawlings. The complete list of 2024 Rawlings Award Winners is below.
| Position | Player | NWL Team | Batting Average |
| C | Luca Dipaolo
Hilary Blomberg |
Rochester Honkers
Madison Night Mares |
.338
.400 |
| 1B | Case Sanderson
Paige Zender |
La Crosse Loggers
Mankato Habaneros |
.359
.417 |
| 2B | Jake Schaffner
Carly Oliver |
Madison Mallards
Madison Night Mares |
.351
.397 |
| 3B | Maddox Mihalakis
Indigo Fish |
Rockford Rivets
Mankato Habaneros |
.429
.387 |
| SS | Drew Barragan
Brooke Holmes |
Fond du Lac Dock Spiders
Mankato Habaneros |
.313
.384 |
| OF | Andrew Sojka
Addison Blomberg |
Willmar Stingers
Madison Night Mares |
.398
.391 |
| OF | Max Buettenback
Sailor Hall |
Willmar Stingers
Mankato Habaneros |
.395
.390 |
| OF | Matthew Miura
Amity White |
La Crosse Loggers
Mankato Habaneros |
.378
.384 |
To be eligible a player would have needed to have enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 31st season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 26 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 370 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (STL) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com), ESPN+, and the Northwoods League Network.
Leveraging the 31-year success of the Northwoods League, the first for-profit Summer Collegiate Baseball League, Northwoods League Softball (NWLS) is the first for-profit Women’s Summer Collegiate Softball League beginning play in the Upper Midwest in the summer of 2024. The purpose of the League will be to develop players for their college, Olympic and future professional play. Teams will be promoted similar to minor league baseball teams, playing games in front of fans in a fun, friendly, family-oriented environment.