Grafton, WI – During the long grind of the summer college summer season, the catching position is vital to the success of any club. The Lakeshore Chinooks have added three talented players to fill the spot in Mike Aiello (UW-Whitewater), Garrett Gilbert (Creighton), and Logan Michaels (Madison College).
Since graduating from Racine Horlick High School, Mike Aiello made stops at UW-Milwaukee and Madison College before settling with former Chinook skipper John Vodenlich at UW-Whitewater. The 5’11 red-shirt junior catcher started 42 games in 2017 and is entrenched as the nationally-ranked Warhawks’ starting catcher, hitting .348 with 18 RBI. Aiello also has Northwoods League experience having played for the Madison Mallards in 2015.
Garrett Gilbert was a three-year letterwinner in baseball at Westosha Central High School, where he hit .397 in his senior season of 2017. The total helped Garrett claim All-State Honorable Mention, as well as a place in the Wisconsin All-Star Game before heading off to Creighton University. Gilbert is projected as the Blue Jay’s catcher of the future as he plays his freshman season behind probable MLB draftee, Mike Emodi. Another product of Hitters’ Academy Baseball, Gilbert has played sparingly as he adjusts to major college baseball.
As a sophomore at Madison College, Logan Michaels is following up his All-Conference selection in 2017 with a season that has caught the attention of major Division I programs. Recently, the hot-hitting catcher from DeForest, WI verbally committed to play for ACC powerhouse Virginia in 2019. This season, Michaels has hit .346 in 28 games with 15 RBI and a .434 on-base percentage and will also bring NWL experience after a 16-game stint with the Rockford Rivets last summer.
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 at the end of April.
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.
