La Crosse, Wis. – The La Crosse Loggers Baseball Club roster grew by three today with the addition of UCLA two-way talent Josh Hahn, San Diego State catcher Poncho Ruiz and St. Louis right-hander Jake Little.
Red-shirt freshman Josh Hahn is off to a hot start this spring for the 10th ranked UCLA Bruins as the left-handed hitter is hitting at a .333 clip with a home run and eleven runs driven in. The Huntington Beach, Cal. native has also made one scoreless appearance out of the Bruin bullpen. Summer baseball is no stranger to Hahn as he competed in the West Coast League in 2019 as a high school senior. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound lefty was a standout at Huntington Beach High School where he was named the 2019 Gatorade High School Player of the Year in the state of California. Hahn was a three-time First Team All-Sunset League and All-State selection, earning 2018 Perfect Game Underclass All-America First Team honors. As a senior at Huntington Beach, Hahn posted a 5-1 record on the mound with a 0.72 ERA and 49 strikeouts over 37 2/3 innings while batting .376 with nine home runs. Hahn ranks as the No. 4 LHP and No. 26 overall prospect out of California, and the No. 14 LHP and No. 141 overall prospect in the nation for the class of 2019 according to Perfect Game.
San Diego State super freshman Poncho Ruiz will also be making the trip east to La Crosse this summer and he’ll be bringing his powerful bat with him. Ruiz was rated the top incoming freshman in the Mountain West Conference heading into this spring season and Perfect Game ranks him as one of the top 200 freshman in the nation. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound catcher has one long ball and a pair of RBI’s on the young season for the Aztecs. Ruiz, who played his high school baseball at Mater Dei Catholic High School (Chula Vista, Calif.), is originally from Tijuana, Mexico.
The Billiken joining the Loggers this summer is big right-handed hurler Jake Little from St. Louis University. The 6-foot-5 freshman has already made five appearances for SLU, including one start, and is sporting a 4.76 ERA with seven strikeouts over 5.2 innings pitched. The Tampa, Fla. native was a two-sports star at Berkely Prep high school, excelling in football and baseball, before committing to St. Louis.
Hahn, Ruiz, Little and the rest of the Loggers will open their 2021 campaign on Monday, May 31 when they travel to Mankato to take on the MoonDogs at ISG Field at 6:35 p.m. The Loggers home opener is set for Wednesday, June 2 when they welcome the Thunder Bay Border Cats to Copeland Park for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch. Season tickets and ticket packages are on sale now for the 2021 season at www.lacrosseloggers.com or by calling the Loggers ticket office at 608-796-9553.
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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 27-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, more than 245 former 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 World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). 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.
