Pepperdine Summer Baseball Destinations
6/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 2, 2011
MALIBU, Calif. - Upon returning from their trip to Italy, 20 members of the Pepperdine baseball team will immediately be scattered throughout the United States from California to Cape Cod for the start of the summer baseball season. During this offseason the Waves will compete for 15 different teams spread across nine leagues.
Those who have the distinct honor of playing in the prestigious Cape Cod League are juniors Jon Moscot (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Palisades HS), Joe Sever (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) and Zach Vincej (Saugus, Calif./Saugus HS). Moscot, a right-handed pitcher, and Vincej, a shortstop will both play for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, while Sever, a second baseman, will be dispatched to Chatham to play for the Anglers.
The largest contingent of Pepperdine players, however, will be found in the Northwoods League, whose teams have accepted six Waves. Chris Amezquita (La Mirada, Calif./Servite HS), Jordan Luvisi (Scottsdale, Ariz./Notre Dame Preparatory) and Miles Silverstein (Bell Canyon, Calif./Calabasas HS) will all suit up for 2010 postseason qualifier Wisconsin Woodchucks, while pitchers Eric Karch (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West HS), Corey Miller (Laguna Niguel, Calif./JSerra HS) and Alex Najera (Anaheim Hills, Calif./Canyon HS) will be playing for the Mankato MoonDogs, Alexandria Beetles and La Crosse Loggers, respectively.
Competing further south in the Midwest for the Prospect League's Danville (Ill.) Dans will be Bryan Langlois (Oak Park, Calif./Oak Park HS) and Michael Swanner (Cardiff, Calif./La Costa Canyon HS). Langlois redshirted in 2011, but Swanner enjoyed a productive season out of the Waves bullpen, posting a 3.95 ERA with 14 strikeouts through 27.1 innings pitched.
Former high school teammates Sam Meyer (Los Gatos, Calif./St. Francis HS) and Ryan Van Amburg (Campbell, Calif./St. Francis HS) will play in upstate New York. Meyer, who came on strong during the season's second half to lead the club with a .289 average, will join the Oneonta Outlaws of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. Van Amburg, meanwhile, will head to the state capital of Albany to compete for the Mohawks of the newly formed Perfect Game League.
Seven Waves remain on the West Coast, but only three will be playing within the lower 48 states. Trevor McDonald (Costa Mesa, Calif./Estancia HS) accepted an assignment to the Hawai'i Collegiate Baseball League, while Tony Cooper (San Carlos, Calif./ Junipero Serra HS), Jared Lee (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West HS) and Brian McIlhenny (Scottsdale, Ariz./Brophy College Preparatory) have decided to compete in Alaska.
Cooper will be with the Peninsula Oilers who play their games in Kenai. Lee and McIlhenny will have their home games in Anchorage with the Bucs.
A native of Medford, Ore., Matt Maurer (Medford, Ore./North Medford HS) will play his summer ball fairly close to home as a member of the Cowlitz (Wash.) Black Bears of the West Coast League and will be joined there by Ricky Villarreal (Edinburg, Texas/Edinburg HS).
Tyler Brubaker (Valencia, Calif./Saugus HS), however, will have the easiest commute of anyone of the team as he'll stay local and play for the Conejo Oaks, whose home games are played nearby at Cal Lutheran University's Sparky Anderson Field.
