Rochester, Min. – The Northwoods League is coming to Fond du Lac. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and Marian University have announced a partnership to bring a new franchise into the league for the 2017 season.

 

"We are very excited to bring Northwoods League baseball to Fond du Lac, a community with a great baseball fan base," said Rob Zerjav, Timber Rattlers team President. "Along with great baseball, we also plan to bring the fun, family entertainment the Timber Rattlers are so well known for."

 

Appleton Baseball Club, Inc. doing business as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, has formed Fond du Lac Baseball Club, LLC to oversee the new Northwoods League club. Timber Rattlers President and General Manager, Rob Zerjav will serve as team president for Fond du Lac Baseball Club, LLC with Ryan Moede assuming the day-to-day responsibilities of running the club as team General Manager. Herr-Baker Field will be the new home for the Northwoods League team and the Fond du Lac Baseball Club, LLC will lease the field from Marian University.

 

"We at Marian University are very excited about entering this partnership with the Timber Rattlers organization to bring Northwoods League baseball to Herr-Baker Field," said Marian University President Andrew Manion. "We look forward to hosting summer baseball of this caliber on our campus each summer and are happy to be entering a long-term relationship with two organizations whose commitment to community is so compatible with our own values here at Marian."

 

The Northwoods League is an amateur, wooden bat league with teams comprised of college players from around the country. Teams are currently located in Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Canada. Fond du Lac becomes the ninth team located in Wisconsin joining Eau Claire, Green Bay, Kenosha, La Crosse, Madison, Mequon, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids.

 

"We are thrilled to have a high-quality operation like Fond du Lac Baseball Club, LLC join the ranks of the Northwoods League," said Northwoods League President Gary Hoover. "Their skills combined with our business model should provide a wonderful fan experience for Fond du Lac and its surrounding communities."

 

"We can't wait to get the community involved and be a part of this team," said Ryan Moede, Fond du Lac Baseball General Manager. "One of our first initiatives is to ask members of the community to submit entries to help name the team."

 

Fans are encouraged to help name the new team by visiting the team's website at www.fonddulacbaseball.com. Fans may also follow the progress of the new Northwoods League team on Twitter (@FDLBaseball) and Facebook.com/fonddulacbaseball.

 

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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 22-year-old summer collegiate 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 150 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and on Google Play.