For Second Straight Season, the Brewers Open Spring Training Against Familiar Names
Posted: March 2, 2016
For the second season in a row, the Milwaukee Brewers will open up Spring Training against the state’s only Division One college baseball team, a team that is littered with guys who have once worn a Sheboygan A’s uniform.
The Brewers will be taking on the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Panthers in an exhibition contest at 2:05 p.m. CST today at Maryvale Baseball Park in Arizona.
The 2016 edition of the UWM Panthers features six players who have worn a Sheboygan A’s uniform in recent years. In addition, second year volunteer assistant coach and 2011 Milwaukee Brewers draft pick Chad Pierce is also a Sheboygan A’s alumni, having played two seasons with the A’s in 2006 and 2007.
“Last season, UWM’s first hit of the game came from an A’s alum (Derek Peake), and I’m looking forward to seeing how this years players fare against big league pitchers” said Sheboygan A’s Vice President C.J. Skelton. “We continue to have a great connection with UW-Milwaukee in terms of helping develop some of their players each summer, and then see those players play prominent roles with UWM in the following seasons.”
A’s players who are on this year’s edition of the Panthers include Dan Barwick, Zach Brenner, Dylan Detert, Cole Heili, Eric Solberg and Jared Reklatis.
Barwick and Detert played starting roles of the A’s in 2015, with Barwick taking home the team’s Most Valuable Defensive Player and Detert receiving the “Sine Qua Non” Award, given to “the essential ingredient” by General Manager Denny Moyer. Detert also won the Wisconsin State Baseball League’s MVP and Rookie of the Year Awards.
Heili, a Sheboygan Falls native, won the team’s MVP award in 2013. Heili, Detert and Solberg have all started a majority of UWM’s games so far in the young season.
The Brewers are scheduled to start right-hander Tyler Jungmann. The Brewers open Cactus League play on Thursday with split-squad games against the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants.
The Sheboygan A's are members of the Wisconsin State League and Northeastern Wisconsin Baseball League. The A's have helped develop more than 43 players that have reached professional baseball, including 2002 World Series Champion Jarrod Washburn (Anaheim Angels). All Sheboygan A's home games are played at Wildwood Baseball Park in Sheboygan. Connect with the A's on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
