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Published On: March 5th, 2019

 

Grafton, WI – The Lakeshore Chinooks are excited to announce that Travis Akre will return for his second season as Field Manager for the team in 2019.  Following in the footsteps of former managers John Vodenlich (2012) and Eddy Morgan (2013-2017), Akre will maintain the helm for the club’s eighth season as a member of the prestigious Northwoods League, widely recognized as the top summer collegiate league. After posting a 29-42 in Akre’s first season, the team will look to return to the NWL playoffs for a fifth time and compete for the coveted Northwoods League Championship, first won by the Chinooks in 2014.

Akre, who will complete his seventh season as the head coach for Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa, is anxious to build upon his first experience in the league and has been intimately involved in the selection and recruitment of the 2019 Chinook roster. “I’m truly honored to lead the Lakeshore Chinooks for a second season. When it comes to summer collegiate baseball, there is no place I’d rather be. We feel like we have put together a well-rounded roster for the upcoming summer,” said Akre.  As an experienced junior college coach, Akre is well-connected at all levels of collegiate baseball and will draw on those connections to supplement the roster throughout the demanding summer.

Besides the experience, Akre’s easy going personality and his focus on developing young players proved to be a good fit for the organization. “Travis stepped into some big shoes when he replaced Eddy Morgan,” says Jon Cain, the Chinooks’ Baseball Operations Manager, “but he kept the focus on the players and throughout the season, you could see that he was becoming more comfortable and more observant about how to be most effective as a manager in this league.  There’s a lot that goes into it and Travis gets that.”

Akre also understands the powerful impact the club can have in the community and embraces the opportunity to interact with fans.  “Our players will also develop as young, professional men throughout the summer,” said Akre. “We want them to enjoy their summer and take advantage of every opportunity to reach out to the community. It’s an exciting time for all of us to be a Chinook!”  Akre’s coaching staff and roster will be announced in the coming weeks.

Akre and his squad will open the 2019 season with two road games in Battle Creek on May 28th and 29th before returning to Mequon for the home opener at Kapco Park against the Wisconsin Woodchucks on May 30th at 6:35pm.

The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. 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 200 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.