Zag Baseball Players Wrap Up Successful Summer Ball Period
8/19/2021 12:36:00 PM | Baseball
Seven Zags earn All-League honors; Hughes, Kempner, Vrieling amongst standout throwers on display
SPOKANE, Wash. — After a historic season in the spring of 2021 that saw a program-best seeding at an NCAA Regional, a mix of Gonzaga baseball players old and new across the country made a splash in summer play over the offseason.
With 28 players across 15 teams in seven different leagues, seven Zags earned All-League honors and four won titles with their respective seasons in some of the most competitive collegiate summer leagues in the nation. Eight finished in the top five of their respective lineups in batting average, and seven pitchers ended the summer with an ERA below 3.00.
"We are happy with how our guys competed this summer, this is a huge part of each of their development processes," said GU head coach Mark Machtolf. "Summer ball also provides a great experience for each of them to go experience new teammates and for a lot of them a new part of the country."
U.S. Collegiate National Team
Instead of league play, righty pitcher Gabriel Hughes opted to spend the summer with the U.S. Collegiate National team, starting in three intrasquad scrimmages and an exhibition against the U.S. Olympic Pro Team. Hughes, a freshman All-American in the spring as a two-way player at GU, threw 8.2 innings and struck out four in those four starts.
First pitch comes in from Gabriel Hughes (@ZagBaseball) and we are underway on a beautiful night in Burlington!#ForGlory 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/pFdDmTgm0v
— USA Baseball CNT (@USABaseballCNT) July 3, 2021
Cape Cod League
In one of the deepest summer leagues in the nation over in Massachusetts, Trystan Vrieling made a name for himself as a utility thrower with the Bourne Braves, picking up two wins as a starter and striking out 21 in 17 innings of work in 7 appearances total. The Braves won the CCBL's President's Trophy as Western Division Champions, finishing the season with a record of 24-9-3 and a league-best .708 win percentage with the fewest runs allowed, while Vrieling was one of nine Bourne players to be named a West Division All-Star in the process.
"Vreiling showed one of the better breaking balls on the Cape this summer," wrote D1Baseball.com's David Seifert in a prospect rundown of the Braves' best arms. "A low-80s offering that he can change the shape, while also throwing for strikes or expanding for chase. It showed late break and good control."
Vrieling also took home Cape Player of the Week honors in June after a week with seven perfect innings and 8 strikeouts over two relief appearances.
West Coast League
Incoming juco transfer Connor Coballes was one of the highlights of a standout season for the Yakima Valley Pippins, reaching the WCL Championship Series after a 29-19 season that put them on top of the WCL North Division. Coballes was Yakima's second-best hitter by average over the summer, batting .282 and getting 33 hits and 25 runs while only striking out eight times.
Returning infielders Alex Shanks (So.) and Mason Marenco (Jr.) were also significant contributors for Yakima — Shanks went deep three times and Marenco did twice over the summer, with Shanks driving in 22 runs on 27 hits and Marenco picking up a team-high 26 walks to go with 23 hits of his own.
Owen Wild saw action in relief in 16 games for the Pippins as well, making 16 appearances for a total of 35.2 frames of relief. Wild struck out 54 in that span, the fourth-most in the league.
The Pippins' opponent in the WCLCS, the South Division Champion Corvallis Knights, featured incoming GU freshman RHP Nathan DeSchryver and sophomore LHP Bradley Mullan.
Mullan earned three wins in nine appearances on the mound and wasn't tagged for a loss the entire summer, holding batters to a .180 average and striking out 30 while only walking 10 in 21 innings pitched.
Bradley Mullan saw right away what his teammates who had previously spent time with the Corvallis Knights described as a competitive atmosphere when he joined the local collegiate wood bat league team last month. https://t.co/mQBwHrGzpJ
— GazetteTimes.com (@gtnews) July 16, 2021
DeSchryver threw 18 innings in nine appearances with three starts, finishing with a 3.00 ERA while striking out 16.
Right-hander Ben Larson made the most out of 14 appearances with two starts for the WCL South's Ridgefield Raptors, posting a minuscule 0.92 ERA in 29 frames on the mound while striking out 31 and only giving up three earned runs. Fellow GU thrower Carson Walters also had a big summer in Ridgefield, throwing 24 innings in 10 relief appearances while striking out 30 of his own.
Despite only appearing in 12 games with the Bellingham Bells, Grayson Sterling connected on two homers and drove in a total of seven runs. RHP Brody Jessee made two starts for Bellingham, earning wins in both with a 1.90 ERA, while Bainbridge Island product and incoming freshman right-hander Kai Francis threw 23 innings, striking out 20 while only walking three in eight appearances as a reliever.
On the 10-14 Wenatchee AppleSox, sophomore Enzo Apodaca led the team in runs (31), hits (38) and walks (38) in 45 appearances.
Patience pays off.
— Wenatchee AppleSox (@AppleSox) August 13, 2021
With his 38th walk of the summer last night @enzo_apodaca drew more walks than anyone else in @WCLBaseball. Congrats to Enzo! #SoxAreHot pic.twitter.com/DHjcMtQ85U
All-League rosters for the WCL have yet to be announced.
Alaska League
In the Alaska League, RHP William Kempner dominated on the mound for the Anchorage Bucs, striking out 44 in 40 innings of action while never being tagged for a loss. Kempner finished the season with a 2.88 ERA and 1.15 WHIP while holding opposing batters to a .223 average, earning an ABL All-League First Team nod as a starting pitcher for his efforts.
Kempner's scoreless seven frames in a start against the Peninsula Oilers on July 2 earned him his first win as a starter, when he struck out seven and held the Oilers to only four hits in a 5-1 victory.
William Kempner @williskempy dealt for the Bucs @Anchoragebucs tonight-(7IP 7K 0ER) in their 5-1 win over the Oilers. Bryce Marsh of the Oilers @PeninsulaOilers went 2 for 4 with a HR. pic.twitter.com/r6YaCfCOwm
— Alaska Baseball League (@OfficalABL) July 3, 2021
GU catcher Tyler Rando also made the ABL First Team after a summer with the Matsu Miners that saw him bat for a .289 average with 28 hits and 20 RBI in 31 appearances. He was joined on the Miners by junior righty Daniel Naughton, who took the mound in 9 games with six starts for a total of 32 frames, striking out 24 in the process.
Also on the Bucs, returning senior Jack Machtolf and pro-bound former Zag Ernie Yake both earned ABL Second Team honors. Machtolf hit for a .295 average — the fifth-best in the league — and finished second on the team in hits (42) and runs (23), picking up 21 RBI in 39 appearances.
Expedition League
Incoming freshman Cade McGee and sophomores Alex Zerfass and JT Waldon all played with the Expedition League's Western Nebraska Pioneers — all three were among 10 Pioneers hitting above .300 on the season, while McGee did double duty as a pitcher, throwing 21 innings in 17 appearances while striking out 25. McGee and Waldon, who ranked third in the league in RBIs (49), both earned Clark Division All-Star nods for their efforts, and Waldon won the home run derby in the Expedition League's All-Star festivities.
Pioneers All Star JT Waldon wins Expedition League All Star Home Run Derby on Monday. Several Pioneers set to play in All-Star Game tonight in Casper. @WNPioneers @Antonio__G38 pic.twitter.com/OgmAqGiJRS
— John Clanton (@JohnClantonTV) July 20, 2021
Sophomore pitcher Jack Moffitt was the Wheat City Whiskey Jacks' second most-used thrower over the summer, pitching 53 innings and striking out 48 in 13 appearances with 11 starts. Also on the Jacks, incoming freshman Jaxon Sorenson appeared in 43 games, notching 40 hits and 31 runs to go with 27 RBI.
Kansas Collegiate League
Sophomore juco transfer Isaiah Cohens showed why he was the ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 1 ranked shortstop in Kansas and No. 3 overall prospect in the state in high school, leading the Kansas Collegiate League's Wichita Dirtbags in batting average (.347), RBIs (15) and hits (20).
