La Crosse, Wis. – The La Crosse Loggers announced their first player signings for the upcoming 2022 season today in the form of a trio of returnees. Pitchers Cole Colleran (San Diego) and Matthew Boyer (Wichita State) join speedster Connor Walsh (Rice) in committing to a second stint on the Northwoods League circuit.
San Diego southpaw Colleran ranked third on the Loggers in games started in 2021 when he took the ball seven times to start a game and also appeared in three other contests while posting a 2-3 record with a 5.54 ERA. The now sophomore also struck out 26 batters in 37.1 innings pitched. The 6-foot, 185-pound Solana Beach, Calif. native logged 8.2 innings for the Torreros as a rookie last spring, posting a 1.04 ERA while recording eight strikeouts. Colleran enjoyed a highly decorated high school career at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego where he set school records for the most career wins (17) and strikeouts (175) while posting a 1.43 era during his high school stint. He was a two-time all-conference selection and two-time pitcher of the year honoree in his conference.
Matthew Boyer spent a portion of the 2020 season with the Lumbermen after his freshman year at the University of St. Louis and is now excited to return to La Crosse after transferring to Wichita State. During the shortened 2020 NWL season, Boyer made five appearances for La Crosse, striking out 15 batters over 7.1 innings while posting a 2.45 ERA. The 6-2 right-hander, originally from Glen Carbon, Ill., spent his first two seasons at SLU where he went 5-3 and struck out 44 batters over 56.1 innings pitched during those two seasons and also earned Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week honors during the 2021 spring season. The two-time A10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll member is now entering his covid-sophomore season with the Shockers after transferring to Wichita State this past off-season.
Connor Walsh from Rice University will also make his return to the Northwoods this summer after a short stint in Loggers green last summer. The 6-2 speedy outfielder appeared in three games, posting a .286 batting average before a hamstring injury cut his summer short, but the potential for Walsh is immense. A native of Niceville, Fla., Walsh was a highly touted recruit coming out of high school as Perfect Game ranked him as the No. 27 freshman prospect in the entire country when he enrolled at the University of Mississippi. Following a red-shirt year at Ole Miss in 2020, Walsh transferred to Rice for the 2021 season where he hit .240 over 104 at-bats that included five doubles, two triples, four homers and 11 RBI’s. The athletic Walsh will be counted on to man centerfield for the Owls this spring before returning to Copeland Park in the summer.
Corbin Day welcomed as Hitting Coach …
The Loggers also announced another addition to their 2022 coaching staff with the hiring of hitting coach Corbin Day. Day is in the midst of his third year as the catching and assistant hitting coach for the Kirkwood Community College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Eagles. Day was an instrumental part of the Eagles staff when they finished fifth at the NJCAA World Series in 2021 working with ICCAC Division II Player of the Year Alex Pendergast (Dallas Baptist commit) as well as first team All-Region honorees Joel Vaske (former Logger, now SE Missouri State) and Josh Fitzgerald (now Dallas Baptist).
Prior to joining Coach Todd Rima’s staff at Kirkwood, Day competed for Mount Mercy for two seasons after spending his first two years of playing college baseball at Kirkwood. While at Mount Mercy, Dan earned a spot on the conference Gold Glove team and was a Daktronics/NAIA Scholar Athlete.
Day, a native of Ely, Iowa, will work with the Loggers hitters and catchers throughout the summer in addition to crafting scouting reports while utilizing the team’s Synergy and Trackman systems.
Colleran, Boyer, Walsh, Day and the rest of the Loggers will open their 2022 campaign on May 30 when they travel to Eau Claire. The 2022 home opener is set for Tuesday, May 31 when the Loggers welcome the Express for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch. Season tickets and ticket packages for the 20th anniversary season of Loggers Baseball are on sale now with information available at www.lacrosseloggers.com or by calling the Loggers ticket office at 608-796-9553. Fans can also visit the Loggers office at 1225 Caledonia Street, La Crosse between 8:30-5, Monday thru Friday.
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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 Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 28th season, the Northwoods 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 250 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 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 Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. 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.
