Sports stats

Northwoods Kalamazoo Growlers

Five Return for 2020 Campaign

February 20, 2020 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Kalamazoo Growlers News Release


The 2020 Kalamazoo Growlers Season will feature the return of five players to the organization. Adam Wheaton, Jake Topolski, Trant Quartermaine, Will Mullen and Khale Showers will all return to Homer Stryker Field this summer.

This recruiting update is presented by OnStaff Group. OnStaff Group is the largest human resource services firm in Southwest Michigan, maintaining an exceptionally experienced and stable staff. Learn how your company can benefit from over 168 years of expertise from a vast variety of organizations and industries today!

RHP Adam Wheaton, 6'1", (R/R) Junior, Trine University (NCAA- Division III)

Wheaton, a Kalamazoo native, will be in his third year with the Growlers organization. Over the course of his 2019 summer, the righty made nine starts and 11 total appearances with a 3.48 ERA. He amassed 62 innings, striking out 46 while only allowing 15 walks. One of Wheaton's highlight performances came June 3 in a 3-0 victory over the Rockford Rivets in which Wheaton threw a four-hit, complete game shutout.

A starter in all of his 11 appearances for Trine University in 2019, Wheaton threw three complete games and led the team in innings pitched (58.1), strikeouts (61) and ERA by a starter (3.09). He finished 4-4 in his decisions and walked 13 batters all season.

During the 2018 summer, Wheaton appeared in 11 games, starting seven. He sat at a 3-3 record, throwing 31 K's and a 3.69 ERA in 48.2 innings. Wheaton's older brother, Ben, also donned a Growlers jersey at the same position.

Wheaton attended Hackett Central Catholic High School and earned the 2017 Kalamazoo Gazette Baseball Players of the Year honor during his senior year. He threw 68 innings, striking out 114 and only allowing three earned runs.

INF Jake Topolski, 6'0", (R/R) Sophomore, Duke University

Over the course of last summer, Topolski hit .227 over 58 regular season games. He collected 41 totals hits, including five doubles and three home runs, 21 RBIs and 30 runs scored. He walked 25 times and was hit by pitches on three occasions to bring his summer on-base percentage to .330. Defensively, Topolski was used primarily in the middle infield while also making a few starts at third base.

Topolski redshirted for Duke in 2019 and after the first series of this season, Topolski was used as a pinch-runner and scored in a 9-8 win over Army.

A Medford, N.J. native, Topolski was a three-sport athlete at Lenape High School in New Jersey playing baseball, football and basketball. He was the 2018 Courier Post Male Athlete of the Year. On the diamond, Topolski was ranked the number four shortstop in New Jersey and number 43 overall prospect by Perfect Game, while also being among Perfect Game's Top 500 overall prospects. He hit .360 with 27 hits, seven home runs and 22 RBIs in his senior season and was a 2018 Rawlings-Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American.

INF Trent Quartermaine, 6'3", (R/R) Junior, Ball State

Quartermaine did a little bit of everything for the Growlers last summer. He came later in the year and only appeared in 8 total games, six in the field and two on the mound. Quartermaine scored twice on two hits, walked three times and struck out five times. On the mound, he threw 4.2 scoreless innings, giving up just four hits, walking three and striking out another two batters.

Before transferring to Ball State, Quartermaine played under Field Manager Cody Piechocki at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. He put up a whopping .414 batting average, 92 runs, 94 RBIs and a .502 on-base percentage in his two years as a Cougar.

Quartermaine hails from Richland, Michigan where he attended Gull Lake High School and earned all-conference and all-district nods during his two seasons.

RHP Will Mullen, 6'4", (R/R) Senior, Western Michigan University

The righty sidearmer was on fire to start the 2019 summer allowing only one hit, seven strikeouts, one walk, no runs, and two saves. But after his fourth appearance, Mullen suffered an injury that forced him to miss the rest of the summer.

For WMU in 2019, Mullen held a 3-4 record in 28 relief appearances. He pitched a total of 50 innings, collecting four saves, 36 K's and sat at a 4.50 ERA. Mullen has already made a splash on opening weekend for the Broncos, making two relief appearances, striking out five and giving up four hits against the University of Southern California.

Mullen comes to Kalamazoo from Rochester, Michigan by way of Notre Dame Preparatory School in Pontiac, Michigan. He earned all-state, all-region, all-district and Catholic league honors as a junior. Additionally, he lettered in swimming, football and baseball.

C Khale Showers, 5'10", (R/R) Sophomore, Northwood University

Showers was another late summer addition to Cody Piechocki's roster and made his impact from the jump, getting two hits in three of his first four games. One of his performances included a 2-4 day with a three-run home run in a 6-2 win over the Wisconsin Woodchucks. In his seven games, Showers finished with a .280 batting average with two extra-base hits, seven RBIs and two walks.

As a freshman at Northwood University, he hit .235 in 26 games. He drove in 15 and only struck out seven times in his 81 at-bats. Through the first series of 2020, Showers went 6-14 with three doubles and six RBIs versus Trevecca Nazarene. He also stole one base and came in to score three times.

A West Michigan native, Showers attended Rockford High School before heading east to Northwood University. He played three years of varsity baseball in which he hit .383 for his career and added 33 RBIs and 30 runs scored.



Northwoods League Stories from February 20, 2020


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Kalamazoo Growlers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central