Northwoods Wausau Woodchucks

Second Half Commences with New Hope, Expectations

July 7, 2011 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Wausau Woodchucks News Release


WAUSAU-July 7, 2011-After falling behind early in the South Division standings and making a quick exit in the first-half championship race, the Wisconsin Woodchucks marked July 7 - day one of the Northwoods League's second half - as a clean slate in the standings, and a launch pad to parlay lessons from their first-half shortcomings into second-half success.

"I think today (Thursday) is about as big a day as we've ever had here at [Athletic Park]," said field manager Guido Aspeitia. "It's probably bigger than our last game to go to the playoffs last season- this could be the season changer right here for us.

"Its going to be important for us to get out of the gate early, otherwise we'll just continue the swoon."

After setting a franchise record for wins in 2010 and making an appearance in the South Division Championship Series, Aspeitia's 2011 squad finished a seventh-place 12-21 in the first half, plagued by choppy defense and erratic pitching.

"I think we hit the heck out of the ball, we just didn't throw strikes and we didn't play catch- and that's really it," said Aspeitia. "It's either-or, we'll walk a guy and then we'll commit an error, so our defense hasn't helped our pitchers get off the hook.

"We've got to throw strikes, that's number one," Aspeitia said of his pitching staff, which posted a 5.07 team ERA through the first 33 games. "It's got to start from them - they set the tone on defense. When you don't throw strikes, you put your defense on their heels."

Quietly, the Woodchucks' lumber put together an impressive first half, and established an impressive core of hitters through numerous late-arrivals and significant roster turnover.

Carlos Escobar Jr. has led the Northwoods League in batting average and doubles, essentially since the day he arrived, while late-arrivals Kyle DeMerritt, Danny Susdorf, Mike Gerber and Cody Regis have settled in and become integral pieces to the Woodchucks' offensive attack.

Adding Austin Coleman and Brian Carroll, the Woodchucks have seven hitters batting over .270.

"I think, offensively, we're better than a year ago- if we can just play defense and pitch, I think we're going to be okay," said Aspeitia, who plans to run a non-traditional five-man rotation for the remainder of the season. "When you look at it, it's really kind of funny. We have All-Americans here who are just having un-All-American seasons- it just comes down to focus."

With a clean slate and essentially a new 37-game season, Aspeitia added that, with improved focus, his team has the chance - and talent - to be great.

"Its a fresh start from a standings standpoint, but I want them to remember the things they did wrong.

"I think we'll take a bit of both- we'll start fresh, but I want to make sure we don't go back to where we were either."



Northwoods League Stories from July 7, 2011


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