Trio of Baseball pitchers land in top-level collegiate summer leagues

A trio of Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball pitchers have landed on top-level summer league teams for the summer of 2015. Junior Josh Ruppel, sophomore Andrew Heideman and freshman Carter Buuck all have found themselves pitching against top-level competition over the next few months.

Ruppel, a junior right-hander from Belgium, Wis. is pitching for the Asheboro Copperheads of the Coastal Plains League. The Copperheads feature a roster full of Division I players, including student-athletes form North Carolina State, Duke, Purdue and Creighton, among others.

The Coastal Plain League has produced several MLB players. Among those players who are currently in the MLB are Ryan Zimmerman (Washington) and former AL MVP Justin Verlander (Detroit).

Ruppel pitched well in his first start with the Copperheads, earning a win against the Gastonia Grizzlies. Ruppel pitched eight innings and allowed just four hits, while striking out seven batters. The Grizzlies also feature a roster full of Division I players from schools such as North Carolina, Tennessee and Kennesaw State.

Buuck, a freshman from Hillsboro, Ore., and Heideman, a sophomore from Bakersfield, Calif., are both playing for the Klamath Falls Gems of the West Coast League. The Gems are set to open their season tonight.

The West Coach League is another premier summer collegiate baseball league as 18 current MLB players once took the field in the West Coast League. Among those players are Jacoby Ellsbury (Yankees), Chris Davis (Orioles) and Jason Hammel (Chicago Cubs).

For more information on the Coastal Plains League, click here.

For more information on the Asheboro Copperheads, click here.

For more information on the West Coast League, click here.

For more information on the Klamath Falls Gems, click here.