Lewis Athletics
Luke Rinne, Director of Athletic Communications
ROMEOVILLE – Former Lewis University pitchers Pete Hamot (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) and Blake Marks (Gardner, Ill./Gardner-South Wilmington) were drafted by the Nerds Herds to play in the inaugural City of Champions Cup at DuPage Medical Group Field in Joliet, Ill., beginning July 16.
“How awesome is that for both of those guys,” Lewis head baseball coach Tim McDonough said. “I’m so happy to see them both get a chance to keep playing and chase their dreams.
“The fact they were picked by the same team is icing on the cake,” McDonough continued They were very close and pushed each other every day so being together this summer will only help them get that much better.”
Hamot, a third-round selection, appeared in 51 games and made 36 starts in his career at Lewis. He finished his career with a record of 12-10 and an earned run average of 3.79. Hamot struck out 210 batters in 246.2 innings pitched. As a senior, he went 5-2 with 3.09 ERA with two complete games and shutouts. Hamot was a First Team All-GLVC selection in 2019.
“Pete has all the makings of a professional pitcher and I wasn’t surprised at all that he went as early as he did in the draft,” McDonough said. “He was our leader and ace on the pitching staff for a long time and I know he’ll do great things this summer and perhaps get a deserving shot at higher levels moving forward.”
Marks was selected in the 27th round of the draft. He pitched two seasons with the Flyers appearing in 25 contests with 23 starts. Marks had a record of 11-8 with an ERA of 3.95 in his Flyer career. He struck out 120 batters in 136.2 innings. As a junior, he went 6-4 with four complete games, a shutout and 52 strikeouts.
“Nobody has worked harder than Blake and he was as big a competitor as we’ve had here at Lewis and as committed as he was when he pitched here, he was even more committed to getting into professional baseball once he graduated,” McDonough said. “He had some opportunities awaiting him before the pandemic hit and I think it’s really cool that he will get a chance to pitch right in his back yard so family and friends can come and support him.”
Four teams will play a 27-game schedule in Joliet that will conclude on Sept. 2. Teams will be made up of players drafted from Frontier League players that are unable to play for their current independent teams or players from minor league baseball affiliated teams.
Each team will play three or four home games per week in a schedule that generally will include night games on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday with additional ticketed day games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
The complete 54 game schedule can be found at www.jolietslammers.com/printable-schedule. Due to limited availability, fans are encouraged to call 815-722-2287 to guarantee their tickets to a professional baseball game this summer.
Tickets are $15 per set plus a processing fee and can be purchased by calling the front office at 815-722-2287 Monday through Friday from 9am-4pm. There is a minimum ticket purchase of two seats per game and a maximum purchase of six seats per game