Baseball

Joliet, Ill. - June 17, 2020 - The Joliet Generals have announced their pitchers for the 2020 Midwest Collegiate League season, which is set to begin on Saturday, July 4. 

The Generals have brought back five pitchers from last year's team – right-handed pitcher Jordan Baker (South Suburban CC/ South Holland, Ill.), right-handed pitcher Jake Meyer (Roosevelt/ Barrington, Ill.), right-handed pitcher Seth Quick (Triton College/ Lombard, Ill.), right-handed pitcher Danny Wizceb (Triton College/ Vernon Hills, Ill.) and right-handed pitcher Jake Ostrowski (Northwestern Ohio/ Lockport, Ill.).

Baker appeared in eight games last season and pitched 21 innings for the Generals with 25 strikeouts. Baker finished the season strong against the Northwest Indiana Oilmen on July 30, when he recorded three innings pitched with six strikeouts while only allowing three earned runs and two hits. This marks Baker’s third summer with Joliet, as he pitched in 10 games and made five starts while striking out 34 over 33 innings in 2018.

Meyer appeared in eight games last season and tossed 24 innings while recording 25 strikeouts. Meyer's best game came against the DuPage Hounds on June 26, as he gave up only one hit and three strikeouts in his only inning of work.

Quick pitched 28 1/3 innings last season for the Generals with a 4.44 ERA and 3-2 record to go with 18 strikeouts while appearing in 13 games. Quick picked up the save against the Bloomington Bobcats on May 31 by pitching two innings and allowing only two hits to go with his two strikeouts.

Wizceb appeared in eight games and 39 1/3 innings for the Generals last season. He posted a team-high 36 strikeouts. Wizceb had his best game of the season on June 3 vs. the Crestwood Panthers, when he pitched five innings with only two earned runs allowed and seven strikeouts.

Ostrowski pitched 35 innings last season for the Generals, recording 31 strikeouts and a 3-1 record while appearing in seven games. Ostrowski’s best game of the season came against the DuPage Hounds on June 19, when he threw a complete game and allowed only one earned run with seven strikeouts and picked up the win for the Generals.

The Generals have brought in eight new pitchers to this year's ball club – left-handed pitcher Chandler Kerr (Concordia-Chicago/ Lockport, Ill.), left-handed pitcher Jack Bell (Western Illinois/ Minooka, Ill.), right-handed pitcher Ike Speiser (Kentucky Wesleyan/ Bourbonnais, Ill.), right-handed-pitcher Andrew Hancock (Central Missouri/ New Lenox, Ill.), left-handed-pitcher Nick Hamilton (Carthage/ Munster, Ind.), right-handed-pitcher Tim Brokop (Saint Xavier/ Bourbonnais, Ill.), right-handed-pitcher Anthony Hernandez (College of DuPage/ Chicago, Ill.) and left-handed-pitcher Noah Mathias (Roosevelt/ LaPorte, Ind.).

Kerr had three appearances for the Cougars this past season as he finished with 3 2/3 innings tossed and a 2.45 ERA. Kerr’s best game of the season came against the North Park Vikings, when he tossed two innings and had two strikeouts without allowing a run.

Bell made five relief appearances and totaled 7 2/3 innings while having seven strikeouts on the season. Bell earned two varsity letters for coach Jeff Petrovic at Minooka Community and was 3-for-3 in save opportunities.

Speiser made three relief appearances and totaled 2 2/3 innings with five strikeouts. Speiser’s season high was 1 1/3 innings and three strikeouts against North Greenville on Feb. 14.

Hancock was a redshirt in 2019 at the University of Evansville and played at Triton in 2020. He will join the baseball program at Central Missouri this fall. Hancock pitched for the Northwest Indiana Oilmen in 2018, when he tossed 11 1/3 innings in four appearances.

Hamilton’s 2020 season was impacted by COVID-19, closing out his All-Northwest Crossroads Conference career with the Munster Mustangs. In 2019, Hamilton had a 2.33 ERA in 27 innings pitched and 33 strikeouts.

Brokop made four relief appearances for the Cougars in 2020, when he posted a 1.69 ERA in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Brokop’s best game came against Tennessee Wesleyan on Feb. 2, when he threw 2 1/3 innings and had one strikeout.

Hernandez pitched for the Northwest Indiana Oilmen in 2019, when he posted a 3.86 ERA in 16 appearances to go with his 22 strikeouts. One of Hernandez’s best game came against the Southland Vikings on Aug. 2, when he threw 3 2/3 innings and recorded a strikeout to go with only allowing two hits to give the Oilmen the win.

Mathias appeared in three games for the Roosevelt Lakers with a 4.60 ERA in 15 2/3 innings pitched. Mathias’s best game came against Campbellsville (Ky.) on March 1, when he tossed 5 2/3 innings and allowed no earned runs.

This group will join the Joliet Generals for the 2020 MCL season, which will start play on July 4.