Wausau, WIS – The Woodchucks have past and future players participating this week at the NCAA Division I College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Texas Christian University and the University of Virginia will square off tonight (6/17) in the winners bracket as both team won their opening games at the World Series. Nate Irving and Brandon Cogswell, two former Woodchucks, will be playing for Virginia.
Cogswell who bats leadoff for the Cavaliers, played in 13 games during the 2012 season for the Woodchucks. In his short stint, he hit for a .233 batting average, with one home run and seven RBIs.
Cogswell’s teammate during the 2012 season, Nate Irving is the starting catcher for the Cavaliers. Irving played in 38 games during the 2012 season for the Woodchucks and recorded a .252 batting average including two doubles and one triple.
Both Cogswell and Irving were selected in the 2014 MLB Draft. Cogswell was selected in the 7th round by the Oakland Athletics while Irving was selected in the 34th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Two future Woodchucks will be facing off against Virginia tonight for the Texas Christian Horned Frogs. Eric Garza has appeared in four games this season while recording one hit in five plate appearances. Brian Howard has appeared in nine games pitching for the Horned Frogs. In 13 innings of relief, Howard has surrendered only four earned runs while posting a 2.77 earned run average while striking out 14 batters. Garza and Howard will join current Woodchuck Robby Medel on the team once the season is completed.
The Texas Longhorns defeated the Louisville Cardinals 4-1 last night (6/16) in an elimination game. Former Woodchuck Madison Carter went 1-for-3 with a run scored in the game. Carter played for the Woodchucks in the 2012 and the 2013 seasons. In 2012, Carter batted .287 with 54 hits, two home runs, and 19 RBIs in 47 games.
The College World Series will be played throughout the remainder of this week with the Championship Series beginning on June 23.
The Wisconsin Woodchucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwood’s League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwood’s 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 Northwood’s League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live via the Northwood’s League YouTube channel. For more information, visit woodchucks.com.