Summer Baseball Update #2: Beesley Shines in Midwest Collegiate League

Follow @ISURedbirds Tweet #ISUATH

June 12, 2013

NORMAL, Ill. - Sean Beesley collected six hits last week to raise his batting average to .417 in Midwest Collegiate League action. Beesley is one of 14 current Redirds playing for summer collegiate wooden bat leagues. Each Wednesday, we will highlight their summer progress right here on GoRedbirds.com, with daily updates occurring on the official Illinois State baseball twitter account @REDBIRDBaseball.

Four Redbirds were selected in last week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. We will have an update on Chad Hinshaw, Chris Razo, Brett Kay and Eric Aguilera once they have been assigned to professional rosters.

Illinois State Baseball Players in Collegiate Summer Leagues - Stats Updated as of Wednesday, June 12 (Batters splits are Average/On-base Percentage/Slugging Percentage)

Sean Beesley | Southland Vikings | Midwest Collegiate League | Link to Southland Stats

.417/.462/.458, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 3 R, 6-6 SB - Went 2-for-3 with one walk and one stolen base June 11 at Lexington. - Collected four hits, including one double, with four RBI and two stolen bases June 9 versus Lexington.

Jack Czeszewski | Northwest Indiana Oilmen | Midwest Collegiate League | Link to Northwest Indiana Stats

.387/.500/.484, 8 RBI, 3 2B, 4 R, 3-4 SB - Went 3-for-5 with one double, one RBI, one run scored, one walk and one stolen base June 11 versus Rockford. - Currently has an eight-game hitting streak, which includes three multi-hit games.

Paul DeJong | DuPage County Hounds | Midwest Collegiate League | Link to DuPage County Stats

.217/.296/.261, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 3 R - Singled, scored one run and drove home one run June 9 versus Northwest Indiana. - Went 2-for-4 with two RBI June 5 at Chicago.

Steve Heilenbach | DuPage County Hounds | Midwest Collegiate League | Link to DuPage County Stats

1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 2 K, 1 BB - Allowed an unearned run in five innings of work June 5 at Chicago. - Completed 17.1 innings, limiting opponents to a .185 batting average against for the Redbirds in 2013.

Mike Hollenbeck | Lakeshore Chinooks | Northwoods League | Link to Lakeshore Stats

.250/.311/.275, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 2 R - Collected two hits and one RBI June 7 versus La Crosse. - Had a five-game hitting streak June 2-8, with two RBI during that stretch.

Jack Landwehr | Lombard Orioles | Chicago Suburban Baseball League | Link to Lombard Stats

Season Began 6/2/2013 - Appeared in nine games and made two starts during his freshman season at Illinois State. - Went 2-1 with a 6.16 ERA. He worked 19.0 innings and struck out eight batters in 2013.

JD Learnard | Lexington Snipes | Midwest Collegiate League | Link to Lexington Stats

2-0, 0.69 ERA, 13.0 IP, 15 K, 3 BB - Went the distance for a nine-inning complete-game June 6 versus Rockford. - Struck out seven batters, walked two and allowed an unearned run on four hits.

Jeremy Rhoades | Orleans Firebirds | Cape Cod League | Link to Orleans Stats

Season Opens 6/12/2013 - Emerged as the ISU closer in 2013, recording a team-best six saves. - Went 2-1 with a 1.54 ERA, striking out 37 batters in 41.0 innings of work for Illinois State.

Brian Rodemoyer | DuPage County Hounds | Midwest Collegiate League | Link to DuPage County Stats

.400/.455/.500, 1 RBI, 2 2B, 4 R, 3-4 SB - Went 2-for-4 with one double and one run scored versus Northwest Indiana, June 8. - Reached base four times, including one double, with two runs scored June 7 against Rockford.

Brock Stewart | Wareham Gatemen | Cape Cod League | Link to Wareham Stats

Season Opens 6/12/2013 - Appeared in 33 games, all as a starter, for the 2013 Redbirds. - Batted .330/.402/.496 with three home runs, 34 RBI and 10 doubles, splitting time between LF, 2B and DH.

Clint Stroud | Lexington Snipes | Midwest Collegiate League | Link to Lexington Stats

0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.0 IP, 1 K, 0BB - Worked a scoreless inning June 11 versus Southland. - Redshirted his junior season at Illinois State.

David Suarez| Lexington Snipes | Midwest Collegiate League | Link to Lexington Stats

2-0, 1.80 ERA, 10 IP, 12 K, 2 BB - Picked up a win after firing six innings of two-run ball June 9 versus Southland. - Earned the victory in four scoreless innings June 1 against McLean County.

Cam Verbeke | Madison Mallards | Northwoods League | Link to Madison Stats

1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.1 IP, 10 K, 2 BB - Worked two perfect innings with two strike outs June 10 at Lakeshore. - Struck out six in 3.1 innings of scoreless relief work June 5 at Wisconsin.

Cody Voelker | Saratoga Brigade | New England Collegiate Baseball League | Link to Saratoga Stats

Season Opens 6/6/2013 - Will make it Illinois State debut in 2014.

Former Illinois State Baseball Players in the Pros - Stats Updated Wednesday, June 12

Jeremy Accardo | Syracuse Chiefs | Triple-A (Washington Nationals) - International League | Link to Syracuse Stats

2-0, 6.28 ERA, 14.1 IP, 11 K, 8 BB, .288 BAA - Pitched 2.2 scoreless innings June 4 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. - Left-handed batters are hitting just .261 versus Accardo in AAA this season.

Neal Cotts | Texas Rangers | American League - Major League Baseball | Link to Texas Rangers Stats

2-0, 0.75 ERA, 12.0 IP, 13 K, 5 BB, .171 BAA - Worked a perfect inning, with one strike out, June 9 at Toronto. - Made his 2013 debut, May 21 against Oakland. It marked Cotts' first MLB appearance since 5/25/2009 when he was a member of the Chicago Cubs.

Ryan Court | Visalia Rawhide | Class A-Advanced (Arizona Diamondbacks) California League | Link to Visalia Stats

.341/.432/.642, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 9 2B, 2 3B, 2-2 SB - Launched a home run and tallied three RBI in a two-hit day June 11 at Bakersfield. - Is batting .405/.477/.865 with four home runs, 12 RBI and three doubles over his last 10 games. 

Kenny Long | Corpus Christi Hooks | Double-A (Houston Astros) Texas League | Link to Corpus Christi Stats

0-0, 10.38 ERA, 8.2 IP, 6 K, 9 BB - Fired 1.2 scoreless innings with a pair of strike outs May 26 against Arkansas. - Worked 0.1 of an inning, retiring the only batter he faced in his Texas League debut, May 10.

GoRedbirds.com