Big Names Back in the Fold for 2022
Posted: March 16, 2022
Things are starting to come together for the 2022 Sheboygan A’s.
The club announced the return of five veteran players and the addition of four Marian University players as preparations for 2022, their 59th season, move along.
Signing contracts for 2022 are ace starting pitchers Eric Schmitz and Brad Rindfleisch, all-league utility player Ross Krist, infielder Jacob Neese, and outfielder Cole Miklavcic. Marian players to sign on are pitcher Dylan Davis, infielder Riley Palmquist and outfielders Gus Walker and Brady Zackrisen.
Schmitz, who will be starting his 10th season with the A’s, has been their go-to pitcher. He was 4-1 last year with a 2.21 earned run average and 66 strikeouts in 57 innings. His career shows a 37-11 record with seven shutouts. He has struck out 378 and walked only 78 in 432⅔ innings. Schmitz previously played his college ball at UW-Whitewater where he set a number of endurance records.
Rindfleisch, another horse in the A’s starting rotation, was one short of an even 100 strikeouts in 71⅓ innings last season. Starting his fourth year, he’s a former UW-Stout player. His career numbers are 242 strikeouts in 159⅓ innings. Always wanting to be in the line-up, Rindfleisch volunteers to catch, play infield, and outfield.
Krist, from UW-Platteville, who has been named to the Wisconsin State All-League team in three of his four seasons with the A’s, has a .319 career average in 745 appearances, and despite playing a myriad of positions has a .947 fielding average.
Neese, a strong-armed third baseman, hit .263 last season with 16 doubles and played in all 63 games. He played for Sheboygan North High School and currently plays collegiately at Parkland Community College.
Miklavcic, slowed by injury last season, is beginning his 8th season and brings a .280 career average. A good runner, Miklavcic, has recorded 27 stolen bases in 32 attempts. He is an alumnus of Marian University.
Davis is a 6-foot-4 left-handed pitcher from Random Lake where he was a first-team all-conference pitcher and outfielder. He also earned letters in basketball, soccer, and football at Random Lake.
Palmquist is a product of Hitters Baseball Academy and helped Burlington High School to the State Tournament four times.
Walker, who hits left-handed, hails from Albuquerque, N.M., where he was 2-time all-state first-team pick.
Zackrisen, from Hitchinson, MN., played at Century College, which made it to the Juco World Series, before settling at Marian.
The A’s open their season on May 21 when they host the qualifying round of the Play Ball Tournament. The first of three games on the day begins at 11 AM. The Sheboygan winner joins winners from the other three sites at Manitowoc on Sunday. The 2022 season is presented by Meijer.
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.
