BLACKSBURG – With the school year off and running and the Virginia Tech baseball program getting set to start its fall baseball season this Saturday, it’s a good time to take a look back at how the Tech players fared in their summer league action.
In all, 23 current Hokies saw playing time this summer in eight leagues scattered across the country, with more than half making the postseason and six earning all-star nods.
Below (in alphabetical order) is a recap of all returning Hokies who played baseball this summer with league/team in parenthesis. On the right is a link to the original release where links to the players' summer league bios can be found.
Mac Caples (Cal Ripken League/Baltimore Redbirds) – Caples enjoyed another title clinching summer (he was with Baltimore last year when they also won the league championship), helping the Redbirds to a repeat title. During the season, he batted .301 in 35 games. He had 31 hits, including seven doubles, two triples and four home runs (tied for fourth in the league), while scoring 35 runs (which led the league) and driving in 20. He added 26 walks (tied for second in league) and 17 stolen bases (tied for third). Caples also made the league’s all-star game and was named to the First Team All-League Team after the season. Perfect Game ranked him as the No. 3 top prospect in the league.
Luis Collazo (Cal Ripken League/Bethesda Big Train) – Collazo helped the Big Train get back to the league’s title game, but like the previous year, fell to the Redbirds. In 13 games, two of which were starts, Collazo tossed 23.2 innings, posted a 2-0 record with one save, had a 1.14 ERA and struck out 29 batters. He was named as an Honorable Mention All-League after the season.
Rahiem Cooper (Coastal Plains League/Wilson Tobs) – Cooper played in 33 games for the Tobs, making 32 starts. He batted .227 with 27 hits, including five doubles, a triple and a home run, scored 16 runs and had 10 RBIs. He drew 13 walks and was hit by three pitches to post a .319 on-base percentage and was also 6 for 6 on stolen base attempts.
Matt Dauby (Futures League/Brockton Rox) – Dauby played in 24 games for the Rox this summer and was named an all-star. He batted .311 with 28 hits, which included three doubles, a triple and two home runs. He scored 13 runs and had 19 RBIs, while adding 13 walks for a .415 on-base percentage.
Sam Fragale (Valley League/Charles Town Cannons) – Fragale played in 32 games for the Cannons and collected 19 hits, including five doubles. He scored 11 times, drove in five runs and also drew 14 walks.
Joe Freiday, Jr. (New England League/Plymouth Pilgrims) – Freiday, Jr., played in 30 games for the Pilgrims and batted .234 for the summer. He had 22 hits, including four doubles and five home runs, and added 17 runs scored and 14 RBIs. He drew 13 walks to post a .339 on-base percentage and also stole two bases.
Garrett Hudson (Cal Ripken League/Baltimore Redbirds) – Hudson played in 33 games for the Redbirds, while also winning a title with the team for the second straight summer. He collected 12 hits, which included two doubles, scored seven times and had nine RBIs. Hudson also walked nine times and stole two bases.
Saige Jenco (Cape Cod League) – Jenco actually played for two different teams in the Cape during the summer – the Harwich Mariners and the Cotuit Kettleers. Combined, he played in 29 games, had 14 hits, which included two doubles, scored 10 runs, had five RBIs and stole one base.
Ryan Lauria (Futures League/Bristol Blues) – Seeing his first live action in a year, Lauria appeared in seven games on the mound for the Blues with five starts. He posted a 1-2 record and a 4.87 ERA in 24 innings pitched. He also added 13 strikeouts to his totals.
Stevie Mangrum (Futures League/Worcester Bravehearts) – Mangrum joined the squad late (after his high school season concluded), and played in just 20 games. He was able to register four hits, including two doubles, and scored twice in his limited action.
Aaron McGarity (Cape Cod League/Chatham Anglers) – McGarity enjoyed a very successful summer on the mound for the Anglers, as he was named an all-star (pitching one scoreless frame) and helped them to the playoffs. He tossed a total of 13 innings in 11 appearances out of the bullpen, posted a 1.38 ERA with nine strikeouts, and saved eight games during the regular season, which was the third-most in the league. He also picked up a save in the playoffs.
Andrew Mogg (Alaska Baseball League/Chugiak Chinooks) – Mogg spent his summer exploring the 49th state, while also playing some baseball. He appeared in 32 games and batted .240. He had 23 hits, which included five doubles and two home runs, scored 14 runs and had 17 RBIs. He also drew 17 walks for a .362 on-base percentage.
Chris Monaco (Cal Ripken League/Bethesda Big Train) – Monaco helped the Big Train get to the league’s title game, but the team lost to the Redbirds. He started five games on the mound and pitched in seven games total. Monaco posted a 2-1 record with a 1.95 ERA in 27.2 innings of work with 21 strikeouts. He was credited with a shutout on July 8 after allowing just four hits in a 3-0 win over the Baltimore Dodgers. In a playoff start, he threw six innings and allowed just one earned run in a no-decision effort.
Packy Naughton (New England League/Plymouth Pilgrims) – Naughton made eight starts on the mound for the Pilgrims and tossed a total of 46.1 innings. He struck out 43 batters while registering a 4-2 overall record with a 3.69 ERA.
Stephen Polansky (Cal Ripken League/Baltimore Redbirds) – Another member of the Hokies that won a title this summer with the Redbirds, Polansky joined the squad late (after his high school season concluded), and played in just 15 games. He was able to register three hits, including a double, score twice and notch a pair of RBIs in his limited action.
Max Ponzurick (Northwoods League/Wisconsin Woodchucks) – Ponzurick, who destroyed the baseball early in the summer, finished with eight home runs, which was second most in the league, and led the league with a .311 batting average. The all-star played in 33 games for the Woodchucks, collecting 33 hits, which included eight doubles as well, scored 20 runs and finished third in the league with 22 RBIs (despite playing about half the league’s games). His 22 walks were fifth in the league and he led the league in slugging percentage (.613), on-base percentage (.435) and OPS (1.048).
Kit Scheetz (Cape Cod League/Orleans Firebirds) – One of four pitchers to throw in the Cape, Scheetz appeared in 21 total games in relief, which included three in the playoffs. Overall, he was 2-1 with three saves, tossed 25.1 innings with 22 strikeouts and posted a 3.20 ERA.
Luke Scherzer (Cape Cod League/Harwich Mariners) – If not for struggling in back-to-back mid-July outings, Scherzer was on his way to an outstanding summer for the Hokies in 2015. Pitching in the prestigious Cape Cod League, he did not allow an earned run in his first eight outings out of the bullpen while picking up seven saves. Then a pair of three spots appeared before Scherzer settled back down and went four straight games without allowing a run to finish out the summer. Overall, the league all-star appeared in 13 games, had 16 strikeouts in 12.1 innings pitched and finished with seven saves, which tied for the fourth-most in the league.
Phil Sciretta (Coastal Plains League/Wilson Tobs) – Sciretta joined the team later in the summer and played in just 18 games with 17 starts. However, he led the team with a .375 batting average with 21 hits, including two doubles and a triple. He drove in 13 runs and crossed the plate seven times. He slugged .446 and with 10 additional walks, posted at .471 on-base percentage.
Tom Stoffel (Futures League/Brockton Rox) – After taking a redshirt this past spring, Stoffel did not take the summer off and, in fact, played in the field and pitched for the Rox this summer. On the mound, he appeared in seven games out of the bullpen, and factored in six decisions – a 2-0 record with four saves. He posted a 0.00 ERA in 13.2 innings and struck out 17 batters opposed to just three walks. At the plate, he had a .268 average in 22 games with 19 hits, including four doubles and a home run. He crossed the plate 12 times and had 13 RBIs.
Joey Sullivan (Cal Ripken League/Baltimore Redbirds) – The fourth member of the championship Redbirds, but the only Hokies pitcher on the squad, Sullivan appeared in 14 games out of the pen for Baltimore. He posted a 3-1 record with one save, had a 1.36 ERA in 26.1 innings pitched, and added 21 strikeouts during the regular season. In the playoffs, he threw 7.2 innings without allowing one earned run, had five strikeouts and earned a save.
Ryan Tufts (New England League/Plymouth Pilgrims) – Tufts played in 28 games for the Pilgrims and notched 13 hits, which included a pair of doubles. In all, he scored eight times and drove in six more runs. He added two stolen bases and drew 11 walks to post a .349 on-base percentage.
Jon Woodcock (Cape Cod League/Cotuit Kettleers) – Woodcock also excelled during his summer on the mound in the Cape for the Kettleers, as he was named an all-star (pitching one scoreless frame) and helped them to the playoffs. He tossed a total of 42 innings (seventh-most in the league) in eight games, including six starts. Woodcock finished with a 3-2 record, a 1.50 ERA (fourth-lowest in the league) and 34 strikeouts. After the season, he was named a Postseason All-League Team member.
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