By Nicholas Hatch

Mequon, WI- The Lakeshore Chinooks are not your average summer league team.  This isn’t a team full of selfish college players who care only about their individual stats. This is a team full of guys who care about the development of every single player on the team. The guys on this team all share a common goal, and that’s winning. Like Cole Gnetz says, “While you want to get better, you want to win first.” These players know what it means to play as a team, and aren’t afraid to put others first. The guys on this team have been taught something even some big-leaguers haven’t- what it means to be a good teammate.

At the start of the summer, many players on the team are meeting each other for the first time; not many know the name of the person standing to their right. They may like some of their teammates, and they may dislike some of their teammates. Regardless, they are still teammates. Some players, however, have the opportunity to play alongside a college teammate. Not every Chinook has a college teammate to spend the summer with, but for the ones that do, it’s clear they have a different kind of relationship.

For the guys who play college ball together, sharing a locker room and dugout is nothing new. Some of them even live together during the college season. Just from talking to these players, it’s clear that they have fun playing the game they love and are very fortunate to be able to play over the summer with someone they already know like a brother.

There are college teammates on the Chinooks from six schools- Baylor University, University of Richmond, Miami University (Ohio), Arizona State University, University of Central Florida, and Oklahoma State University. After talking to these players about what it’s like having a college teammate on the Chinooks, there was a unanimous answer- it’s nice coming to a new team with someone you already know.

The two Sun Devils, Nick Cheema and Alec Marsh, had very similar responses. “Last summer, we were together at ASU for summer school, and we live together now, so it’s a lot of fun,” said Cheema.

Marsh also enjoys being able to play over the summer with his college teammate. “I’m super happy I was able to bring somebody home, because I live in Milwaukee, so we’re staying at my house, and it’s awesome to have somebody around and somebody on the team that I know. We both love everybody on the team and made really good friends, and it’s just been a really good experience.”

Both players also brought up the importance of getting better and continuing to work on their games over the summer. “Just really working on certain things and just getting better at what you do,” said Cheema. “Summer ball is more about developing your skills as a player and making friends, meeting new guys, so having a team full of guys from all over the country is awesome,” said Marsh.

“After the games, we’ll talk about how we did and help each other out, so there’s definitely motivation there. I really like having him [Cheema] around and it’s nice to have somebody to talk to after the games,” said Marsh, when asked if there is any extra motivation having Cheema on the Chinooks with him.

Cole Gnetz, Shane Smith, and Zach Spears are all teammates together at Miami University (Ohio), and all share a bond similar to that of Marsh and Cheema. Although Smith was recently waived by the Chinooks, his outgoing personality will not be forgotten.

“All three of us are in the same class, which is nice, so we got to Miami at the same time, and all three of us are close. Zach and I are roommates, so we’re pretty close. It’s cool because we get to watch each other make friends with people from all over the country,” said Smith.

Gnetz had a similar response. “It’s fun because you have someone that was on your team that you know coming in. It just makes it easier because you have a friend already on the team. We’re all the same position, so we hang out all the time at school.”

“It really helps coming here and having two other people you know immediately. It just makes things a lot easier,” said Spears.

Spears put the most emphasis on how fun it is having these guys around, saying the competition between them all is just for fun.

“Oh yeah, I mean you always want to do good, but especially when you have someone you always play around,” Smith answered about extra motivation.

Gnetz said, “You want to get better with your teammates, and it’s a fun competition, so we can all do better. You’re always rooting for your teammates. You gotta have their backs when they do good or they do bad.”

The two Richmond teammates, Peter Bovenzi and Brendan McGuigan, had very similar answers, with both saying how nice it was coming to the Chinooks with a teammate.

“It’s really nice, actually. You come in and you already have someone you know, so it makes it easy to get things moving in the summer,” said Bovenzi.

Likewise, McGuigan said, “It’s definitely nice coming into the season here, knowing that I’m already going to have a teammate that I’m comfortable with and that I’m pretty close with. It definitely helped the transition. When we both first got to Mequon, it definitely helped having someone else to learn the area with.

“You’re always competing with the guy on your team. You’re gonna have to compete with him for a spot in the season for innings, so it’s definitely a motivator, but it’s still fun,” said Bovenzi.

“We’re always pulling for each other out here. As a team, you’re always pulling for people, but especially someone that I’m going to see grow throughout the school year and then be able to watch him grow out here. Always pulling for him [Bovenzi] when he’s on the mound,” McGuigan answered.

The two Baylor Bears, Joe Heineman and TJ Raguse, are very supportive of each other, and that was very clear in their responses. They push each other to excel and be the best players on the field.

“It’s a good time to get a lot closer. Here, he’s a face that I know and I get to hang out with him [Heineman] all the time, so it’s just a cool experience having a teammate here,” said Raguse. “It makes you a little more comfortable, just because you have one of your boys out here, you can feel comfortable playing with and having a good time with.”

Heineman was not shy talking about the importance of motivating his teammate and seeing him improve throughout the summer. “It’s nice, you know when I got here I didn’t know anyone, so a familiar face is always nice to have. We push each other to get better. We both expect each other to get better, and we expect certain things out of each other, so we’re definitely pushing each other.”

Connor Kimple and Daniel DeSimone, the two Oklahoma State representatives, are also very close and are seemingly always joking around with each other on and off the field.

“We’re always just joking around and messing with each other. We actually are roommates, so you get to know a guy pretty well when you sleep in the same room as him for a whole school year,” said Kimple.

DeSimone similarly said, “we know each other pretty well, so it’s been good playing with each other again.”

Although Kimple said the summer is more for player development than during the school season, he also made sure to stress that there is still a team aspect to the summer season.

Kimple was more vocal about the motivation of having a college teammate alongside him. “There’s friendly competition everywhere. You want to see how you stack up against your teammates and get a feel for things. Nothing malicious, where you’re just trying to do better than him and hope he strikes out every time.”

Matthew Mika and Rylan Thomas, the two Central Florida players on the Chinooks, are perhaps the biggest jokesters of all the college teammates. These two players know how to win, and have fun while doing so. Every day during batting practice, Mika and Thomas can be seen next to each other, joking, laughing, and having a good time.

“He’s fun to play with. He [Mika] keeps it light in the dugout, and I enjoy playing with him a lot,” said Thomas. “He’s a competitive guy, but he keeps everything light, so he keeps it fun.”

Mika had similar remarks about Thomas. “We’re so used to each other, and he [Thomas] played first base and I played second base, so our relationship in the infield is still there. It’s definitely better to have someone you know on your team. It’s always good to work and get each other better at the same time.”

After talking to 13 players on the team, it was obvious that they know how to have fun, but more importantly, support one another. These guys are here to make each other better, not just themselves. The Chinooks know how to play together as a team, and that starts with putting others first.

In the words of Matthew Mika, “we’re all out here, just trying to do our best and win some games for the Chinooks, as well as having fun, because that’s what baseball is about.”

These words are praised throughout the entire team, and it all starts with the most important part- being a true teammate.

Whether it’s the Northwoods League or Major League Baseball, there is one common theme for good baseball clubs, and that’s playing together as one.

As Babe Ruth once said, “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.”