Summer League Links / Boilermakers in Pro Ball
COTUIT, Mass. – Purdue baseball's Matt Moore has been selected as an all-star in the prestigious Cape Cod League and will serve as a reliever for the West Division team in the July 21 summer league showcase.
Moore has been charged with only one run on seven hits in 10 innings of relief over seven appearances. The lefty has made six of his first seven appearances with Cotuit Kettleers in road games, highlighted by three innings of scoreless relief to earn the win in a July 8 first-place showdown with the Wareham Gatemen.
Moore is believed to be the first Boilermaker to be named an all-star in the Cape Cod League since Kevin Plawecki in 2011.
The Cape Cod League All-Star Game is set Sunday, July 21 at Eldredge Park in Orleans, Massachusetts, which serves as the home field of the Orleans Firebirds.
Third-team All-Big Ten reliever Bo Hofstra is also pitching for Cotuit this summer. Together they've helped the Kettleers post a 15-11-3 record (33 points) as of July 14, trailing Wareham (17-12-1) by just two points in the West Division standings. Hofstra has three wins and 16 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings pitched, making eight appearances. Because Hofstra and Moore have pitched in the same game only once – the CCBL's season-opening Monday on June 10 – the Kettleers have used a Boilermaker in relief in 14 of their first 29 games.
The All-Star Games for the Prospect League (Normal, Illinois) and West Coast League (Bend, Oregon) are both set for Tuesday, July 23. There are multiple Boilermakers playing in those leagues that could potentially be named all-stars this week.
MORE SUMMER LEAGUE NOTABLES
• Ryan Howe returned to the lineup in a big way July 11 for the division-leading Cape Catfish of the Prospect League. He homered in consecutive games and went 5-for-10 with three extra-base hits, three walks, four RBI and four runs scored over three games from July 11 to 13. Howe had been sidelined since June 12. Cape Girardeau is 28-13 and holds a 3 ½-game lead in the West Division as of July 14.
• Also in the Prospect League, Blake Schmitt and incoming Boilermaker Miles Simington (a transfer from Heartland College) have been regulars for the Lafayette Aviators in recent weeks. Simington erupted for a 9-for-18 stretch in which he had multiple hits in four straight games from July 9 to 12, highlighted by a July 11 home run. He has also scored the game-winning run in the 10th inning of two different 10-9 victories for the Aviators. Schmitt hit his first home run of the summer July 5 in a win at Normal. The catcher has more walks (25) than strikeouts (21) to go along with a .432 on-base percentage in 101 at-bats as of July 14.
• Cole McKenzie has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games for the Wenatchee AppleSox of the West Coast League. Overall, he has reached base safely in 27 of the 29 WCL games he has played this season. During Purdue's season, McKenzie posted reached base safely streaks of 18 and 22 consecutive en route to third-team All-Big Ten honors. He's batting .370, third best in the WCL, with a .466 on-base percentage and 11 stolen bases as of July 14. He has posted 12 multi-hit games.
• McKenzie's Purdue and AppleSox teammate, Johnny Sage, has eight multi-hit efforts in 17 games since returning to the lineup June 25. He has reached base safely in 16 of the 17 games and his average for the season has climbed over .100 points to .276 in the process. Sage reached base safely multiple times in all three games of a home sweep vs. Bellingham this past weekend (July 12-14).
• Incoming Boilermaker Kyle LaPlante (a transfer from Niagara County CC) has helped his Niagara Power team clinch the Western Division of the New York Collegiate League. At 25-10-1 as of July 14, Niagara reached 50 points in the standings with a week remaining in the regular season. LaPlante is the regular shortstop for the Power, playing in 30 of the first 36 games. He's batting .291 and has reached base safely in 10 of his last 11 games.
• Incoming Boilermaker Ricky Castro (a transfer from Parkland College) worked six innings of two-hit shutout ball in a July 3 win for the Bend Elks (West Coast League). Castro put together his gem despite not striking out any of the 24 batters he faced. As of July 14, he has recorded 15 strikeouts vs. just 12 hits allowed over 18 1/3 innings while compiling a 1.47 ERA.
• Justin Fugitt's seven-game hit streak, which began with a three-run homer in a June 29 win for the Port Angeles Lefties (West Coast League), came to an end July 13. Charlie Nasuti has connected for two homers for Port Angeles this summer while batting .319 with a .458 OBP.
COTUIT, Mass. – Purdue baseball's Matt Moore has been selected as an all-star in the prestigious Cape Cod League and will serve as a reliever for the West Division team in the July 21 summer league showcase.
Moore has been charged with only one run on seven hits in 10 innings of relief over seven appearances. The lefty has made six of his first seven appearances with Cotuit Kettleers in road games, highlighted by three innings of scoreless relief to earn the win in a July 8 first-place showdown with the Wareham Gatemen.
Moore is believed to be the first Boilermaker to be named an all-star in the Cape Cod League since Kevin Plawecki in 2011.
The Cape Cod League All-Star Game is set Sunday, July 21 at Eldredge Park in Orleans, Massachusetts, which serves as the home field of the Orleans Firebirds.
Third-team All-Big Ten reliever Bo Hofstra is also pitching for Cotuit this summer. Together they've helped the Kettleers post a 15-11-3 record (33 points) as of July 14, trailing Wareham (17-12-1) by just two points in the West Division standings. Hofstra has three wins and 16 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings pitched, making eight appearances. Because Hofstra and Moore have pitched in the same game only once – the CCBL's season-opening Monday on June 10 – the Kettleers have used a Boilermaker in relief in 14 of their first 29 games.
The All-Star Games for the Prospect League (Normal, Illinois) and West Coast League (Bend, Oregon) are both set for Tuesday, July 23. There are multiple Boilermakers playing in those leagues that could potentially be named all-stars this week.
MORE SUMMER LEAGUE NOTABLES
• Ryan Howe returned to the lineup in a big way July 11 for the division-leading Cape Catfish of the Prospect League. He homered in consecutive games and went 5-for-10 with three extra-base hits, three walks, four RBI and four runs scored over three games from July 11 to 13. Howe had been sidelined since June 12. Cape Girardeau is 28-13 and holds a 3 ½-game lead in the West Division as of July 14.
• Also in the Prospect League, Blake Schmitt and incoming Boilermaker Miles Simington (a transfer from Heartland College) have been regulars for the Lafayette Aviators in recent weeks. Simington erupted for a 9-for-18 stretch in which he had multiple hits in four straight games from July 9 to 12, highlighted by a July 11 home run. He has also scored the game-winning run in the 10th inning of two different 10-9 victories for the Aviators. Schmitt hit his first home run of the summer July 5 in a win at Normal. The catcher has more walks (25) than strikeouts (21) to go along with a .432 on-base percentage in 101 at-bats as of July 14.
• Cole McKenzie has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games for the Wenatchee AppleSox of the West Coast League. Overall, he has reached base safely in 27 of the 29 WCL games he has played this season. During Purdue's season, McKenzie posted reached base safely streaks of 18 and 22 consecutive en route to third-team All-Big Ten honors. He's batting .370, third best in the WCL, with a .466 on-base percentage and 11 stolen bases as of July 14. He has posted 12 multi-hit games.
• McKenzie's Purdue and AppleSox teammate, Johnny Sage, has eight multi-hit efforts in 17 games since returning to the lineup June 25. He has reached base safely in 16 of the 17 games and his average for the season has climbed over .100 points to .276 in the process. Sage reached base safely multiple times in all three games of a home sweep vs. Bellingham this past weekend (July 12-14).
• Incoming Boilermaker Kyle LaPlante (a transfer from Niagara County CC) has helped his Niagara Power team clinch the Western Division of the New York Collegiate League. At 25-10-1 as of July 14, Niagara reached 50 points in the standings with a week remaining in the regular season. LaPlante is the regular shortstop for the Power, playing in 30 of the first 36 games. He's batting .291 and has reached base safely in 10 of his last 11 games.
• Incoming Boilermaker Ricky Castro (a transfer from Parkland College) worked six innings of two-hit shutout ball in a July 3 win for the Bend Elks (West Coast League). Castro put together his gem despite not striking out any of the 24 batters he faced. As of July 14, he has recorded 15 strikeouts vs. just 12 hits allowed over 18 1/3 innings while compiling a 1.47 ERA.
• Justin Fugitt's seven-game hit streak, which began with a three-run homer in a June 29 win for the Port Angeles Lefties (West Coast League), came to an end July 13. Charlie Nasuti has connected for two homers for Port Angeles this summer while batting .319 with a .458 OBP.