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Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.- The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are pleased to announce the addition of two Riverside, California natives to the 2020 roster, pitcher Nate Hemmerling and catcher Cameron Vollmer.
Nathan Hemmerling returns to the Rafters roster in pursuit of a Northwoods League ERA title. In 2019, Hemmerling was 7-2, with a 2.28 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 59.1 innings pitched. Hemmerling was one of three Wisconsin Rapids starters last season that had an ERA below 3.2, the most by a team in the NWL.
This spring, Hemmerling will take the mound and the field for the Lakeland University Muskies, a Division III program in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Last season, Hemmerling earned NACC First-Team honors with a 2.50 ERA and 76 strikeouts as a freshman. Both of those statistics were top-ten in school history. With the bat, Hemmerling hit .255 with two home runs while playing shortstop. The hot start to his college career earned him a spot on D3baseball.com All-Midwest Region team and Midwest Region’s Rookie of the Year. Hemmerling was also the Male Athlete Rookie of the Year at Lakeland.
Muskies Head Coach Logan Mann speaks highly of Hemmerling: “Nate is an extreme competitor on the mound. He has quiet confidence, which allows him to slow the game down 
and not get too high or low. These attributes have helped him be successful so far and will allow him to have continued success.”
Cameron Vollmer is a sophomore catcher for Division II Holy Names University in Oakland, California. Vollmer transferred to HNU this past year, and is the Hawks starting catcher for the 2020 season. In 13 games played for Holy Names, Vollmer is hitting .304 with three RBIs.
At Hillcrest High School in Riverside, California, Vollmer was First-Team All-CIFSS Division 5 and was a two-time defensive player of the year for Hillcrest.
The Rafters Home Opener is slated for 6:05pm on Wednesday, May 27th against the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders. For more information on the different ticket packages visit Raftersbaseball.com, call the Rafthouse at 715-424-5400, or visit Historic Witter Field. The Rafthouse is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday at Witter Field, 521 Lincoln Street in Wisconsin Rapids.
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The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters 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. Having completed its’ 26th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 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 230 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 (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.raftersbaseball.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Rafters as your favorite team.