DULUTH, Minn. – Three St. Scholastica baseball players had a chance to play in the Northwoods League this summer, signing contracts in the final month of the season.

CSS first baseman #Sean Claugherty# (Sr.-Oakdale, Minn./Tartan), catcher #Paul Kolodge# (Sr.-Cloquet, Minn.), and pitcher #Josh Retka# (Jr.-Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) all got a chance to play in the league this summer.

The Northwoods League is a 14-team summer baseball league comprised of the top college players from across the nation and North America. Each team is operated similar to a professional minor league team, providing players an opportunity to play under the same conditions using wooden bats, minor league specification baseballs, experiencing overnight road trips, and playing nightly before fans in a stadium. The players are not paid.

Claugherty played in 10 games for the Thunder Bay Border Cats. He had nine hits, including one double, and drove in six runs. Retka also signed with the Border Cats at the end of the season was 1-0 in four games, including one start. He had four strikeouts and teams hit just .071 against him.

Kolodge got to play his home games at Wade Stadium as he saw action in seven games for the Duluth Huskies. Kolodge had five hits, including one double, and drove in three runs.

These three Saints will now look to take the experience they learned from playing in the league into the 2010 St. Scholastica baseball season.