Rawlings Hitting Award Winners Announced for Baseball and Softball
Willmar, MN – Rawlings®, the Official Bat and Equipment supplier of Northwoods League Baseball®, is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Rawlings “Big Stick” Awards. The Willmar Stingers have two recipients, Andrew Sojka and Max Buettenback.
The Northwoods League is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Rawlings hitting awards for both baseball and softball. This award is given to the player at each position who had the best batting average during the 2024 regular season.
Rockford Rivets third baseman Maddox Mihalakis leads the baseball list of award winners. Mihalakis led the league with an impressive .429 batting average. Paige Zender of the Mankato Habaneros had the highest average in NWL Softball, hitting .417 helping to lead the Habaneros to the Championship in the first year of NWL Softball.
Rawlings has been rewarding the top hitters in Northwoods League Baseball since 2007. This is the first year that Northwoods League Softball hitters are also receiving this award. To honor their achievement, the nine award winners in each league will receive a trophy from Rawlings. The complete list of 2024 Rawlings Award Winners is below.
Sojka and Buettenback are part of a group of 8 players, who led the league in batting average at their positions. The Willmar Stingers and the LaCrosse Loggers are the only two teams in NWL Baseball to have multiple recipients of the award in 2024. Sojka and Buettenback placed 2nd and 3rd in the league for overall batting average.
Andrew Sojka (California State University, Northridge)
Sojka found his role in the leadoff spot dominating the competition. Adding on to his 2024 NWL MVP, Sojka earned the Rawlings Hitting Award with a batting average of .398 (2nd among qualified hitters). In his second season with the Stingers, he paired the .398 batting average with 22 HR (1st), 73 RBI (1st), and 22 2B (T – 1st).
Max Buettenback (University of Nebraska – Lincoln)
Buettenback’s first season in Willmar ends with hardware. The left-handed, clean up hitter placed 3rd among all qualified batters in average. He tallied 81 Hits (6th) and 62 RBI (4th) hitting behind his teammate.
The 2024 Willmar Stingers were a record setting offense lead by Sojka and Buettenback. These two players contributed largely to the Stingers #1 seed going into the playoffs. “The fans knew how good these guys were” said Stingers General Manager, Hunter Rommes. “Since their first at-bat they made an impact on both sides of the ball and really were exciting to watch all summer.”
Full Northwoods League Press Release:
https://bit.ly/3A7Gjla
The following is a complete list of winners of the 2024 Rawlings “Big Stick” Awards
| Position | Player | NWL Team | Batting Average |
| C | Luca Dipaolo
Hilary Blomberg |
Rochester Honkers
Madison Night Mares |
.338
.400 |
| 1B | Case Sanderson
Paige Zender |
La Crosse Loggers
Mankato Habaneros |
.359
.417 |
| 2B | Jake Schaffner
Carly Oliver |
Madison Mallards
Madison Night Mares |
.351
.397 |
| 3B | Maddox Mihalakis
Indigo Fish |
Rockford Rivets
Mankato Habaneros |
.429
.387 |
| SS | Drew Barragan
Brooke Holmes |
Fond du Lac Dock Spiders
Mankato Habaneros |
.313
.384 |
| OF | Andrew Sojka
Addison Blomberg |
Willmar Stingers
Madison Night Mares |
.398
.391 |
| OF | Max Buettenback
Sailor Hall |
Willmar Stingers
Mankato Habaneros |
.395
.390 |
| OF | Matthew Miura
Amity White |
La Crosse Loggers
Mankato Habaneros |
.378
.384 |
For more information on the 2025 season ticket packages, call the Stingers front office at 320-222-2010 to see what seats are currently available, to renew your season tickets, or to upgrade your seats. Seating options are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
The 2025 Stingers season is presented by J.D. Kreps Financial Group. For more coverage of the Stingers visit the West Central Tribune online at www.wctrib.com
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The Willmar Stingers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its 31th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 26 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, over 325 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.willmarstingers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Stingers as your favorite team.