Grafton, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks have added three more players to the roster for the 2018 Northwoods League season with the additions of Zach Clayton (Oregon State), Heath Renz (UW-Whitewater), and Nick Starr (Southern Arkansas).
Zach Clayton is a highly-decorated three sport athlete from nearby Oconomowoc, WI where he was rated by Prep Baseball Report as the sixth best prospect in Wisconsin during his senior year of 2017. The first team all-state selection played both infield and outfield in high school, but will focus on the outfield with the nationally-ranked Oregon State Beavers. Though it has been difficult to crack the lineup, Clayton impressed the coaching staff by getting a head start on summer ball in 2017 with the Bend Elks of the West Coast League where he hit .354 in 26 games.
Heath Renz, a right-handed pitcher from Jefferson, WI, was named a D3baseball.com first team All-American in 2017 as he teamed up with fellow Chinook Austin Jones in the powerful UW-Whitewater rotation. Like Jones, Renz will look to showcase his pitching skills for professional scouts. In his senior season, the right-hander has posted a 5-1 record with a stellar 1.81 ERA and has notched 57 strikeouts versus only 20 walks in 44.2 innings of work. Renz also has gained valuable Northwoods League experience as a member of the Madison Mallards the past two summers.
Nick Starr is the closer for nationally-ranked Southern Arkansas Muleriders, the same program that produced 2017 Northwoods League All-Star and former Chinook, Jake Richardson. A high velocity pitcher from Conway, AR, Starr pitched for two years at Connors State College before moving on to SAU. This season he has picked up six saves on 37 strikeouts in 26.1 innings of work in 16 relief appearances as the Muleriders have qualified for the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament with a chance to move on to the College World Series in late May.
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, mini game packs, and group tickets are currently available for purchase. Our full gameday promotional schedule, weekly promotions, and weekly concession promotions can be found at lakeshorechinooks.com
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 190 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.
