Ashwaubenon, WI – With the start of the Northwoods League season for the Booyah set for July 1st at home against the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, the Green Bay Booyah have announced the remainder of its 2020 roster, courtesy of Express Employment Professionals.
Returning to the Booyah on the mound is the lengthy lefty from Appleton who put on a show all summer long last year. UW-Milwaukee junior Jack Mahoney is coming back for a second summer after going 3-2 last season with a 1.84 ERA overall. On one of the most memorable nights of last summer, Mahoney no-hit the Rockford Rivets in a 5-0 win, a game where he struck out nine batters.
Also spending another summer in plaid for the Booyah are catcher Brady West and right-handed pitcher Chris Jefferson. West, who spent the 2020 season at North Greenville, crushed the ball for the Crusaders. He led the team in batting average at .429, hits with 33, and RBIs with 32. He was also tied for the team lead in homers at seven. Before his spring season was cut short, Jefferson went 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA and struck out 17 hitters over 22 innings. His 4.30 ERA last season for Green Bay ranked him 4th among qualifying pitchers.
From Clemson to Green Bay, Bo Majkowski will return to the city where his father, Don, played football for the Packers. Some extra ‘Majik’ in the Booyah lineup and a familiar last name should supply extra excitement to Capital Credit Union Park this season. Majkowski is known for his glove, having a career .990 fielding percentage, but also showed he can use his bat during ACC play last season, when he hit .294.
Out of the Ivy League, Columbia freshman Andy Blake and Princeton sophomore Nadir Lewis come in with high expectations. Blake, a shortstop, reigns from Hopewell Township in New Jersey, where he produced back-to-back all-area hitter of the year honors. During his 2019 season at Hun School of Princeton, he hit .516 with 3 home runs and 23 RBIs. For Lewis, his 2019 season at with the Tigers was one to remember. He started every game, and led the team in runs, walks, and on-base percentage, while roaming the outfield. He also holds the Alpharetta High School record for most triples in a career.
On the pitching staff, the Booyah welcome a pair of right handers from the University of Kentucky. Harrison Cook and Ron Cole, both freshmen for the Wildcats, come in with impressive resumes from their high school careers. Cook, a 3-time first team All-State honoree in Iowa, holds his high school’s record for strikeouts in a game with 16. For Cole, he was part of the first team in Neptune High School history to make a state finals appearance during his sophomore season, and was a 2019 Perfect Game and Rawlings Preseason All-American.
The Booyah will also be loaded with left handed options on the pitching staff, including De Pere High School senior Ben Hampton. Hampton dominated competition in 2019, going 9-1 with a 0.99 ERA during his junior campaign and take West De Pere to the state semifinals. He will start his freshman season in 2021 at West Virginia.
Joining Hampton from that Mountaineers squad are first basemen Alec Burns, and shortstop Tevin Tucker. Burns broke the Souhegan High single-season home run record with 12 bombs in 2017. He was also named the New Hampshire Player of the Year by Perfect Game for the 2017 season. For Tucker, he brings stability, speed, and a great glove at shortstop. The Prince George, Virginia, native started all 60 games in 2019 for West Virigina, and was ranked as the number seven overall player in the state coming out of high school. Both Burns and Tucker make up part of the highest ranked recruiting class in Mountaineer history.
Benton Hart, Joe Taylor, and Eric Torres make up three more left handed arms for Green Bay in 2020. Hart, a freshman from Lakeside, California, he tossed 13 innings with a 2.08 ERA in his debut season at Dixie State. During his final two seasons at Santana High School, he stuck out 111 batters over the course of 113 innings. Joe Taylor, a junior at Nicholls State, did not allow an earned run in 9.2 innings pitched in 2020. Taylor also picked up a save in the Colonels 4-2 upset win over #11 LSU on February 19th. Finally, Milwaukee native Eric Torres stays in state after playing his 2019 summer league season for Wareham of the Cape Cod League. In 2020 with Kansas State, he did not allow an earned run in five out of his six outings, and led the team in appearances.
At the dish, the Booyah bring in power with Akron catcher Cameron Tilley. During Tilley’s 2018 season at Colby CC, the Australian born right handed hitter crushed the ball, hitting .377 with 17 home runs and 67 RBIs. He was selected as a first team all-conference member, and was also named to the gold glove team.
Rounding out the infield for Green Bay in the 2020 season is Tennessee third baseman Ethan Payne. The left-handed hitter was a 2-time Preseason All-American, and brings more athleticism to the Booyah roster. During high school, Payne was the starting quarterback at Germantown, went 23-2 overall, and was named to the first team all-region during his junior year.
