by Matt Plante
Vice President
Top Tier Alumni Roundup in the MLB/MiLB
Major League Baseball top performer in Opening Week:
Tanner Roark, Washington Nationals
Roark has had an amazing Spring, helping the USA team win the Championship in the World Baseball Classic. In his Opening Week start vs. the Miami Marlins, he got the win going 6 innings giving up only 2 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks while striking out 6.
Minor League Baseball top performers in Opening Week:
Tyler Ladendorf starts the year off in Triple A for the Charlotte Knights Affiliate to the Chicago White Sox.
Ladendorf in the Opening Week has started off hot, playing with some of the best up and coming young stars with the White Sox. He went 4 for 9 hitting .444 with Charlotte with 2 RBI’s while starting as there LF and DH. Charlotte won both games vs. Norfolk Tides this past week.
Paul DeJong starts the year off in Triple A for the Memphis Redbirds Affiliate to the St. Louis Cardinals.
DeJong is the one of the up and coming stars in the Cardinals organization has started in Triple A at SS and 2B. He has collected 4 hits in the Opening Week with 2 doubles and 2 RBI’s. Memphis is 3-1 in their first week of play vs. New Orleans.
Rob Scahill starts the year off in Triple A for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox Affiliate to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Scahill got 2 relief appearances on the back end of the bullpen for the Sky Sox in Opening Week. He got the save in his 1st appearance going 1.1 innings giving up 0 runs on 0 hits with 2 strikeouts. In his 2nd appearance he got another inning of work in giving up 0 runs on 1 hit while striking out 1. The Sky Sox are 3-1 to start the season.
Karch Kowalczyk starts the year off in Double A for the Tulsa Drillers Affiliate to the LA Dodgers.
Kowalczyk made two appearances in the Opening Week going at total of 3.1 innings giving up 0 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks while striking out 3. Tulsa went 2-2 vs. Frisco RoughRiders.
Kyle Hunter starts the year off in Double A for the Arkansas Travelers Affiliate to the Seatlle Mariners.
Hunter got a start in the Opening Week of play getting a No-Decision going 4 innings giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, 1 walk while striking out 4. The Travelers are 2-2 to start the season.
Ryan Borucki starts the year off in High A for the Dunedin Blue Jays Affiliate to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Borucki was put on the 40-man roster heading into the Spring and they say if he keeps showing well could be up in the Major Leagues soon. He took the Loss in his start Opening Week vs. the Clearwater Threshers, but went 5 innings giving up only 2 earned runs on 3 hits, 1 walk while striking out 4.
Jeremy Rhoades starts the year off in High A for the Inland Empire 66ers Affiliate to the LA Angels.
Rhoades got the win in relief on Opening Day going 1 inning giving up 0 runs on 0 hits and 0 walks. In his 2nd appearance in Opening Week in relief he went 1.2 innings giving up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. The 66ers are 1-2 to start the season.
Jason Goldstein starts the year off in Low A for the Beloit Snappers Affiliate to the Oakland Athletics.
Goldstein went 1 for 5 in Opening week as one of their main catchers. The Snappers went 2-2 vs. Cedar Rapids Kernels.
Michael Martin starts the year off in Low A for the Beloit Snappers Affiliate to the Oakland Athletics.
Martin went 0-4 in his Opening Day and then got hurt in game 2 during opening week and has been put on the 7-day disabled list.
Minor League Assignments for other Top Tier Alumni:
Luke Harrison has been assigned to the Low A Peoria Chiefs Affiliate to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ryan Koziol has been assigned to the Low A Augusta GreenJackets Affiliate to the San Francisco Giants.
Anthony Ray has been assigned to the Low A short season State College Spikes Affiliate to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Adam Walton has been assigned to the Low A short season Hillsboro Hops Affiliate to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Dane Hutcheon has been assigned to the Rookie League GCL Twins Affiliate to the Minnesota Twins.
Week #8 Top Tier Alumni Roundup: Top Performances in College Baseball
Connor Riley, USC-Aiken
Riley had an unbelievable start this past week vs. Augusta where he went 7 innings giving up 0 runs on 4 hits, 3 walks while striking out a staggering 11. He got the win for his efforts and helped USC-Aiken take all three games vs. Augusta on the weekend and improved them to 27-10 overall. Riley on the year is 3-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 52.1 innings, while striking out a staggering 82 hitters.
Zach Lewis, Wichita State
Lewis pitched a gem this past weekend, picking up the win moving him to 2-2 on the year. In his outing vs. Southern Illinois he went 7 innings strong giving up 0 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks while striking out 6. The Shockers took 2 of 3 from Southern Illinois this past weekend.
Will Kincanon, Indiana State
Kincanon got the win throwing a great game vs. Evansville going 6.1 innings giving up 0 runs on 5 hits, 3 walks while striking out 7. Indiana State got back on track taking 2 of 3 from Evansville on the weekend and winning a big mid-week game vs. Purdue this past week.
Eric Giltz, SIUE
Giltz swung a hot bat this past week going 7 for 15 hitting .466 with a double, triple and 5 RBI’s. This helped his SIUE team take 2 of 3 from Eastern Kentucky on the weekend.
Neil Lambert, Triton CC
Lambert continued to stay red hot at the plate, going 9 for 19 this past week hitting .474. On the year, Lambert has a BA of .403, with a .510 OBP and a .558 SLG percentage. Triton is back to 14-14 on the year.
Brady Huffman, Illinois State
Huffman got the win in his start this past weekend vs. Dayton going 7 innings giving up 1 earned run on 5 hits while striking out 6. Huffman on the year has a 3.72 ERA as a freshman in 29 innings of work and has a record of 2-1.
Sean Hjelle, Kentucky
Hjelle earned a No-Decision in his effort vs. Mississippi State this past weekend giving up 1 earned run on 3 hits, 3 walks while striking out 3 in his 6.1 innings of work. Kentucky lost 2 of 3 vs. Mississippi State on the weekend. Kentucky is ranked #8 Nationally this season.
Matt Fallon, Xavier
Fallon had a really good weekend at the dish going 5 for 11, hitting .454 with a double and 3 RBI’s. However, Xavier lost 2 of 3 vs. Villanova.
Louis Niemerg, Maryville
Niemerg got the win this past weekend vs. Truman State going 6 innings giving up 0 runs on 7 hits, 4 walks while striking out 2. He also collected 3 hits on the weekend but the Saints only managed a split vs. Truman State on the weekend.
Brett Newberg, Austin Peay
Newberg had a really good start this past weekend, picking up the win and moving to 2-0 on the year. He beat Belmont going 5 innings in his start giving up 1 run on 3 hits, 2 walks while striking out 4. The Governors took 2 of 3 from Belmont on the weekend.
Shane Peisker, John A. Logan CC
Peisker had a tremendous week at the plate going 6 for 13 hitting .462 with a hit in every game including a double and a triple. He is currently hitting .351 on the year and has helped lead the Vols to a 24-9 record overall.
Mitch Vogrin, Illinois State
Vogrin had 2 relief appearances this past week. His first appearance came in the mid-week vs. Valpo where he went 2.1 innings giving up 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 3. In his second appearance on the weekend he earned the save going 2 innings vs. Dayton giving up 0 runs on 1 hit and 1 walk.
Kolton Rominski, Hillsdale
Rominski got the win vs. Findlay this past weekend going 6.1 innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, 1 walk while striking out 5. He improved to 2-2 on the year and Hillsdale went on to sweep Findlay in all 4 games this past weekend.
Jack Landwehr, Illinois State
Landwehr made 2 relief appearances this past week. He went a total of 5 innings of relief picking up a save in one of those appearances giving up 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 5.
Austin Covers, Heartland CC
Covers took the loss over the weekend vs. Parkland but threw very well going 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 7.
Austin Blazevic, Kaskaskia CC
Blazevic got a hit in every game this past weekend vs. Wabash Valley CC going 5 for 9 hitting .555 with a double and 2 RBI’s. He is currently hitting .326 on the year.
Kevin Coppin, Concordia-Chicago
Coppin was 5 for 10 on the weekend with a homerun, a double and 4 RBI’s to help them win all 4 games vs. Aurora and Edgewood.
TJ Byrd, Rend Lake CC
Byrd went 4 for 10 on the weeknd hitting .400 with 3 doubles and 3 RBI’s as they swept all 3 games from Shawnee CC.
Trey Schramm, Xavier
Schramm made 2 relief appearances this past weekend going a total of 2 innings giving up 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 4. Xavier however lost 2 of 3 vs. Villanova.
Michael Schalasky, UIndy
Schalasky moved to 4-0 with a win this weekend vs. McKendree going 7 innings giving up 3 runs on 4 hits, 2 walks while striking out 6. The Greyhounds took 3 of 4 from McKendree this past weekend and improved to 23-10 on the year.
Kyle Colletta, Northern Kentucky
Colletta collected a hit in every game this past week going 6 for 18 on the week, hitting .333 with a double and 3 RBI’s. However, they lost 2 of 3 vs. Valpo on the weekend and loss to Eastern Kentucky in the mid-week.
Brian Musielak, Concordia-Chicago
Musielak improved to 2-1 on the year this past week beating Aurora. He went 5 innings on his start giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, 3 walks while striking out 4.
Nick Menken, Iowa Western CC
Menken went 3 for 8 on the weekend hitting .375 as they swept all 3 games vs. Southwestern CC. He is currently hitting .328 on the year, and Iowa Western is 27-10 overall.
Ryan Fish, Jefferson CC
Fish went 3 for 8 on the weekend hitting .375 as they swept all 3 games vs. St. Charles CC. Jefferson CC is now 27-10 overall.
Cal Coughlin, TCU
Coughlin got 1 inning of relief work in vs. Murray State this past weekend giving up 0 runs on 3 hits while striking out 1. TCU swept Murray State on the weekend and improve to 26-5 overall and a #3 ranking nationally.
Brenden Heiss, Arkansas
Heiss got 1 inning of relief work vs. Grand Canyon in the mid-week giving up 0 runs on 1 hit, 1 walk while striking out 2. Arkansas beat Grand Canyon twice during the mid-week and lost 2 of 3 vs. #13 ranked LSU over the weekend.
Michael Shereyk, SIUE
Shereyk made one relief appearance this past week vs. Western Illinois going 2 innings giving up 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 2 in the win.
Malcolm Grady, Wabash Valley CC
Grady got the win this past weekend vs. Kaskaskia CC going 5 innings giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, 3 walks while striking out 9. Wabash Valley CC is currently 25-10 overall.
Luke Johnson, Bucknell
Johnson collected 4 hits this past weekend, one of them being his 1st career grand slam home run. However, even Johnson’s offensive power surge couldn’t help them as they lost 3 of 4 vs. Army.
Matt Sullivan, Chicago State
Sullivan went 3 for 10 hitting .300 on the weekend vs. CS-Bakersfield. However, the Cougars lost 2 of 3 vs. CS-Bakersfield over the weekend.
Ben Dickey, Northwestern
Dickey went 2 for 6 hitting .333 over the weekend with 2 RBI’s to help the Wildcats take 2 of 3 from Iowa.
Travis Upp, IPFW
Upp went 3 for 5 over the past week mostly in pinch-hitting roles, however they lost all 3 vs. Oral Roberts over the weekend.
Jacob Nagel, Bellarmine
Nagel earned a No-Decision in his start vs. Kentucky Wesleyan going 4.2 innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 1. Bellarmine is currently 21-13 on the year.
Michael Sebby, Illinois State
Sebby got 1 inning of relief work in this past weekend giving up 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 2.
Zack Wade, DePauw
Wade collected a hit in every game this past weekend vs. Whittenberg, helping the Tigers win 3 of 4 games. DePauw improves to 19-5 on the year.
Brett Shimanovsky, Saint Louis
Shimanovsky got 1 inning of relief work in vs. Fordham this past weekend giving up 0 runs on 1 hit. Saint Louis is currently 19-9 on the year.
Tyler Lass, Northwestern
Lass got 1 inning of relief work in vs. Iowa this past weekend giving up 0 runs on 2 hits while striking out 2.
Zach Taylor, Triton CC
Taylor went 1 for 3 vs. Kishwaukee CC, with a home run this past weekend.
Jordan Libman, Illinois State
Libman went 1 for 2 in his two pinch-hit appearances this past week.
Zak Devermann, Illinois
Devermann went 0.2 innings in relief vs. #18 ranked Michigan over the weekend giving up 0 runs on 0 hits while striking out 1. Illinois lost 2 of 3 vs. Michigan.
