Senior Wade Regas is a closer for the Texas Wesleyan baseball team, and this past summer he played in a summer ball league.

The special education major competed in the Northwoods League with many other college players; his team was the Duluth Huskies, and he went north at the invitation of the team’s coach, Daniel Hersey.

Hersey, Regas said, heard about him through Wesleyan assistant coach Robert Garza.

“Hersey contacted Garza and asked if he had any bullpen guys that could help him out and pointed him in my direction,” said Regas, who posted a 2.51 ERA and six saves last spring. “Coach Garza helped me get a foot in the door.”

Regas stayed with a host family in Proctor, Minn., a small town near Duluth. He said Duluth is a fan-friendly town that supports the Huskies; at least 2,500 fans would show up to every home game.

“The fans were awesome and the environment was identical to a Major League club,” Regas said. 

He said the playing time and innings pitched were valuable and that the summer season helped him figure out a lot on his own. Plus, the good competition he faced helped prepare him for the upcoming season back at Wesleyan.

“I face good competition and it was important for me to be ready every single day, we played every single day,” Regas said. 

Regas was also picked as one of four players on the Huskies to go to the leagues’ all-star game, which was played in Kenosha, Wis. He closed out the seventh inning in the team’s 9-3 win.

He completed the season with a 2-1 record, a 3.22 ERA, four saves and 13 strikeouts in 36.1 innings of play.

“I’m grateful for everyone who made this happen, especially my junior college coach, Kurtis Lay, who helped pave the way for this opportunity,” Regas said.

Junior Stephen Yancey, one of the Rams’ starting pitchers, said Regas is an incredible asset to the team and deserved to pitch in the summer league.

“The Northwoods League is almost the best in summer baseball,” Yancey said. “Wade got an experience and I think that experience will help us as a whole for this coming season.”

Yancey, who spent the summer pitching for the Hays, Kan. Larks in the Jayhawks Baseball League, said that if Regas’ team was anything like his, he got an experience of a lifetime on and off the field.

Senior Alex Lopez, a music education major and another one of the Rams’ key pitchers, played alongside Yancey for the Hay’s Larks.

“The Jayhawks league was like none other except for Northwoods,” Lopez said. “Wade got to play with a ton of talent.”

Lopez said Regas is a great team player who supports all his teammates.

“Wade is the guy that people go to for mental help,” Lopez said. “He knows the game and he’s played at the highest levels.”