MANKATO- Minn. The Mankato MoonDogs, a member of the Northwoods League are excited to announce the signing of three players from the state of Illinois for the 2017 season. They include pitchers Andy Fisher and Joey Gerber from the University of Illinois and utility player CJ Schaeffer from Western Illinois.
Andy Fisher is a 6'1", 175 lb. Junior, who transferred to Illinois this fall after spending his first two years of college playing for Eastern Illinois. Due to NCAA transfer rules, he must sit out the 2017 season at Illinois but the left-hander was a reliable arm out of the bullpen as a freshman and sophomore at his previous school. Last season he had a 1-4 record with a 5.83 ERA in 46.1 innings pitched, 53 strikeout, and 17 walks. He appeared in 22 games, all in relief and was second on the team in ERA and third in strikeouts. In his freshman season, Fisher also appeared in 22 games, including eight starts and put up a 2-3 record with a 7.71 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 49 innings of work. In addition to baseball, Fisher is also an excellent student, making the dean's list at Eastern Illinois and receiving the OVC Medal of Honor.
Joey Gerber, a 6'4", 215 lb. sophomore is a native of Maple Grove, Minnesota. In high school he threw a no-hitter for Wayzata High School and was a three-year letter winner. At Illinois, Gerber had five appearances out of the bullpen as a freshman and had a 7.50 ERA. This spring, Gerber has already made 11 appearances with 13 innings pitched, 13 strikeouts, and has steadily dropped his ERA to 4.15. He recorded a career high, 5 strikeouts versus MIZZOU on February 26th. He is majoring in Accounting at Illinois.
CJ Schaeffer, a 5'10", 200 lb., sophomore joins the MoonDogs from Western Illinois, where he is listed as a catcher but is capable of playing multiple positions, including pitcher. So far this spring, Schaeffer has appeared in 11 games for the Leathernecks and in 27 at bats, has recorded 2 hits and 1 RBI. Last year as a freshman, Schaeffer played in 23 games and made 10 starts in the Western Illinois lineup.
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The Mankato MoonDogs are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 23rd 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 150 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.mankatomoondogs.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store and set the MoonDogs as your favorite team.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 23-year old summer collegiate 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 160 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM) and Lucas Duda (NYM). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.