Rochester, MN – October 14, 2013. Madison Mallards second baseman John LaPrise (Virginia) has been named a recipient of the 2013 Rawlings 'Big Stick' Award. The award is given to the player at each position in the Northwoods League who had the best batting average during the 2013 regular season.
LaPrise earned the award by leading the Northwoods League in hitting with an incredible .407 batting average. He was also a mid-season All-Star and helped lead the Mallards to a Summer Collegiate World Series Championship by hitting .500 in the playoffs.
LaPrise led the Mallards in batting average (.407), runs scored (45), and stolen bases (14) and was second on the team in hits (77), and triples (3).
Rawlings has been rewarding the top hitters in the Northwoods League since 2007 in addition to honoring the best fielders since 2002. To honor their achievement the eight award winners will receive an engraved bat from Rawlings. The complete list of 2013 Rawlings 'Big Stick' Award Winners is below.
| Position | Player | NWL Team | College | Batting Average |
| C | Jackson Slaid | Wisconsin Rapids | Montevallo | .326 |
| 1B | Marc Flores | Willmar | Hawaii | .352 |
| 2B | John LaPrise | Madison | Virginia | .407 |
| 3B | Albert Baur | Alexandria | Newberry College | .325 |
| SS | Andrew Sohn | Alexandria | Western Michigan | .349 |
| OF | Keith Curcio | Duluth | Florida Southern | .367 |
| OF | Cam Gibson | Battle Creek | Michigan State | .345 |
| OF | Tim Arakawa | Mankato | Oklahoma State | .346 |
To be eligible a player would have needed to have enough plate appearances to qualify for a batting title. A player must have a minimum of 2.7 plate appearances per team game.
The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 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 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including MLB All-Stars Max Scherzer (DET), Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYY), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube Channel. For more information, visit www.mallardsbaseball.com.
