MWL1 Lansing Lugnuts

Four Lugnuts Named MWL All-Stars

June 4, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Lansing Lugnuts News Release


LANSING, Mich. - Four Lansing Lugnuts players have been named to the 2014 Midwest League Eastern Division All-Star team, as determined in a vote by the league's managers.

First baseman Matt Dean and third baseman Mitch Nay were each honored as starters, with outfielder Derrick Loveless named as a reserve and closer Griffin Murphy named amongst the pitching corps.

The 50th annual Midwest League All-Star Game will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17th, at West Michigan's Fifth Third Ballpark.

21-year-old Matt Dean joined the Lugnuts this season after capturing the 2013 Appalachian League batting crown. In 35 games, the Dallas native is batting .306 with nine doubles, two homers and 15 RBIs. He recently returned from a three-week stint on the Disabled List due to an injured oblique. Dean was drafted by Toronto in the 13th round in 2011.

A native of Chandler, AZ, 20-year-old Mitch Nay has played in 56 of the Lugs' 57 games, leading the team in at-bats (213), base hits (56) and RBIs (30). Nay, considered by Baseball America to be the Blue Jays' #4 prospect, also rates among the top defensive third basemen in the MWL. Nay was selected 58th overall in the 2012 draft.

Derrick Loveless, 21, has surprised in his initial Midwest League season, batting .287 with a team-leading 24 walks in 47 games. Hailing from Solon, IA, the versatile Loveless has played all three outfield positions and has batted in every spot in the batting order save for the cleanup slot. Loveless was chosen by Toronto in the 27th round in 2011.

In his second year in the MWL, 23-year-old southpaw Griffin Murphy has impressed as the Lugnuts' lockdown closer. The San Bernardino, CA, native is tied for second in the circuit with eight saves, posting a 1.80 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 25 innings. Murphy was a second round draft pick of the Blue Jays in 2010.

It was a Lansing Lugnut who provided the key blow in the 2013 Midwest League All-Star Game in Dayton: outfielder Dalton Pompey delivered a game-winning RBI single on a full-count, two-out pitch in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the Eastern Division to a 6-5 victory.

The Lugs open a six-game homestand tonight on a Hump Day Wednesday, starring Humphrey the Camel and featuring Happy Hour with half-off drinks from 7-8 p.m. Righty Jeremy Gabryszwski (3-2, 3.71) will be on the mound for Lansing at 7:05 p.m., with South Bend turning to lefty Hector Hernandez (3-0, 1.96).

Tickets are available for purchase via the stadium box office, telephone at 517-485-4500 and online at lansinglugnuts.com . To sign up for Lugnuts Alerts, text LUGNUTS to 80373.

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Midwest League Stories from June 4, 2014


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