Grafton, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks have added three players with previous playing experience in the Northwoods League with the signing of Kyle Huckaby (Eastern Michigan), Luke Mangieri (Bradley), and Trevor Smisek (Ellsworth Community College).
Kyle Huckaby will return to the Northwoods League after pitching 56.1 innings in 17 appearances for Fond du Lac in 2017 with 51 strikeouts and only 17 walks while posting a solid 3.83 ERA . The left-hander from Chandler, AZ is the son of former MLB player Ken Huckaby and most recently pitched for Eastern Michigan in 2015 and 2016 where he had career total of 62.2 innings with 25 strikeouts and 33 walks, but chose to take the season off to improve his strength and pitching mechanics. With one season of college eligibility remaining, Huckaby will look to land at another college program after a summer at Lakeshore.
Luke Mangieri of Bradley University also played for the Dock Spiders in 2017, hitting a respectable .281 in 56 games with 31 RBI, one home run, and three triples. Strong at the plate, Mangieri has played both corner infield spots for the Braves of Bradley University but in his junior season has been the regular first baseman, hitting a whopping .345 with a .479 slugging percentage and 19 RBI’s. Mangieri’s Braves are off to a tremendous 20-9 start and are 7-2 in the always tough Missouri Valley Conference.
Trevor Smisek is another left-handed pitcher who pitched in the NWL last year for the Duluth Huskies. In 21 appearances, the native of New Prague, MN notched a 2.53 ERA with 23 strikeouts and 26 walks in 32 inning of work. Smisek will join his Ellsworth head coach, Travis Akre, at Lakeshore after his sophomore season for ECC where along with many others, has persevered through difficult spring weather. Smisek has struck out 41 in 42 innings with a 2-4 record and 6.08 ERA.
The 2018 season is presented by Port Washington State Bank with the home opener set for June 1st at 6:35pm against the Kenosha Kingfish. Season and group tickets are currently on sale with single game tickets available for purchase starting on April 28th at Gill’s Grill Out at Port Washington State Bank in Thiensville.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Entering its 25th anniversary season, the Northwoods 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 185 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.lakeshorechinooks.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Chinooks as your favorite team.
