Will County Gazette

Despite being 25 games out of first place in the East Division of the Frontier League, the Jolliet Slammers have something to celebrate.

Slammers pitcher Duke von Schamann was named Frontier League pitcher of the week recently, marking the first time that he has received the honor. Von Schamann is only the second player on the Slammers to receive the award this season.

During week 16 of the season, von Schamann turned in solid performances against the Windy City ThunderBirds and Traverse City Beach Bums. In a loss to the ThunderBirds, von Schamann pitched seven innings and recorded eight strikeouts. In a win against the Beach Bums, he recorded a nine-inning shutout, racked up seven strikeouts and gave up only five hits. It was von Schamann’s second complete game of the season. 

This is von Schamann’s first season with the Slammers after playing in the minor league organizations of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cleveland Indians. He has an ERA of 3.87, five wins and 82 strikeouts on the year. His ERA is fourth-best on the team. 

Last year, von Schamann played with the Winnipeg Goldeneyes of the American Association, garnering eight wins and 66 strikeouts. He pitched one game in the playoffs for Winnipeg, recording four strikeouts.

At the time of publication, von Schamann had pitched 115 innings for Joliet.

Some of von Schamann’s other solid games include a win over the Lake Erie Monsters, in which he pitched eight innings and recorded nine strikeouts, his season best. He also threw in a win against Fargo, in which the Slammers claimed a 14-4 win and von Schamann pitched eight innings and racked up four strikeouts. 

The Slammers are outside of the playoff picture, and the team’s regular season is drawing to a close. At the time of publication, the team was 41-49 and will wrap up its season in early September. 

For more information about the Slammers season, visit www.jolietslammers.com.