FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Sunday, August 13, 2017
Northwoods League Announces 2017 Postseason All-Star Team
Rochester 1B Zubia is MVP, St. Cloud’s Rozek is Top Pitcher
Rochester, Minn. – The Northwoods League announced the 2017 Postseason All-Star Team and award winners on Sunday, August 13. Rochester first baseman Zach Zubia was named the league’s Most Valuable Player and St. Cloud’s Aaron Rozek was named Pitcher of the Year as voted by the League’s coaches and members of the media. Craig Noto from Wisconsin Rapids was named the Manager of the Year and John Halama from Wisconsin Rapids won the Coach of the Year Award for the second straight season.
Rochester Honkers first baseman Zach Zubia (Texas) won the MVP award by being among the league leaders for offense in the Northwoods League. Zubia, a freshman, was also a mid-season All-Star as well as a selection for the Major League Dreams Showcase. Zubia currently has a league record 22 home runs and leads the league with 62 RBI. Zubia is a native of Richmond, Texas.
St. Cloud Rox left-handed pitcher Aaron Rozek (Minnesota State University) was named the Northwoods League Pitcher of the Year. Rozek, a junior, appeared in 10 games and went 6-1 with a 2.39 ERA. He also struck out a league high 78 batters in 64 innings. He was also a mid-season All-Star selection. Rozek hails from Burnsville, Minnesota.
Kalamazoo Growlers infielder Connor Hollis (Houston) was also selected for the team and is currently hitting a league leading .384 for the season.
Zubia, Rozek and Hollis are among the 33 players selected to the NWL’s Postseason All-Star team.
The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters led all teams with six selections while the Madison Mallards had four players selected.
Third year manager Craig Noto of the defending Summer Collegiate World Series Champion Wisconsin Rapids Rafters is the 2017 Manager of the Year. Noto has led the Rafters to four straight half championships dating back to last season. The Rafters currently have the best overall record in the league at 51-20.
John Halama earned the award for 2016 Coach of the Year in the Northwoods League. The former Major League pitcher has guided the Wisconsin Rapids pitching staff now for three seasons. This is the second straight Coach of the Year award for Halama.
Mick Tidrow of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, Danny Frey of the Waterloo Bucks and Michael Keeley of the Rochester Honkers were recognized by their peers as Play-by-Play Announcers of the Year.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate 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 180 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.