Theunissen Wins Rawlings “Big Stick” Award
(Madison, WI) The Northwoods League is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2011 Rawlings “Big Stick” Award. This award is given to the player at each position who had the best batting average during the 2011 regular season.
Madison Mallards first baseman Nate Theunissen earned a Rawlings “Big Stick” Award by hitting .325 this season. Theunissen, from Central Michigan University also tied a team record with nine home runs for the Mallards.
La Crosse Loggers catcher Andrew Knapp earned a Rawlings “Big Stick” by becoming the first Northwoods League player to hit .400 since Luis Rivera of the Waterloo Bucks in 1995. Thunder Bay Border Cats second baseman Cullen Mahoney was second in the league in batting at .347 while Waterloo Bucks third baseman Cameron Perkins finished third with a .344 average. Slugging outfielder Shaun Cooper of the Mankato MoonDogs, the 2011 NWL MVP, was the only player to earn both the Rawlings “Big Stick” and Rawlings “Finest in the Field” Award in 2011.
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 winners will receive an engraved bat from Rawlings. The complete list of 2011 Rawlings “Big Stick” Award Winners is below.
| Position | Player | NWL Team | College | Batting Average |
| C | Andrew Knapp | La Crosse | California | .400 |
| 1B | Nate Theunissen | Madison | Central Michigan | .325 |
| 2B | Cullen Mahoney | Thunder Bay | Loyola Marymount | .347 |
| 3B | Cameron Perkins | Waterloo | Purdue | .344 |
| SS | Ty Forney | Eau Claire | New Mexico State | .338 |
| OF | Pat Stover | Willmar | Santa Clara | .337 |
| OF | Danny Susdorf | Wisconsin | UC San Diego | .335 |
| OF | Shaun Cooper | Mankato | Utah | .335 |
To be eligible a player would’ve 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. Those players that saw time at more than one position qualify at the position they played most often.
The Madison Mallards are members of the 16-team Northwoods League. The 2011 season has come to end in record-breaking fashion. The Mallards drew a new team and summer collegiate baseball record 213, 467 fans this season, breaking their old record of over 207,000 set in 2007. 7-Game Packs for 2012 are now on sale! For more information call 608-246-4277 or email info@mallardsbaseball.com.
