Three Panther baseball players were recently named to their wood bat summer league All-Star teams.

First baseman Erik Huber, third baseman Ryan Campbell and pitcher Chris Vaculik, all seniors, were each selected to play in their respective league’s versions of the midsummer classic.

Huber led the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average and on-base percentage this past season and is continuing that success as he leads the Brainerd Blue Thunder of the Northwoods League of Wisconsin and Minnesota in batting average (.331), hits (42), RBIs (24), on-base percentage and slugging percentage (.417) thru July 9.

Huber likes the fact that in summer ball the players get a chance to work on things that they do not get a chance to work on during the spring as the results are not the most important thing during the summer.

“I’m trying to improve my swing for more power,” Huber said.

Campbell and Vaculik are both playing for the Dubois County Bombers of Southern Indiana.

Campbell is leading the team in RBIs, and like Huber is trying to work on his power stroke.

“I’m working on driving the ball to the gaps,” Campbell said.

Vaculik has four saves and a 1.76 ERA as of July 9. Eastern’s all-time saves leader has also struck out 15 in 15 1/3 innings.

Vaculik is taking the summer league opportunity to add another pitch to his repertoire.

“I’m trying to work on my changeup,” Vaculik said. “Hopefully, I can add it in for next season.”

A major difference between summer ball and league play for the Panthers is the use of wooden bats, as opposed to the aluminum bats the players are accustomed to.

Huber and Campbell both agree that it makes you a better hitter as it is harder to square the ball up with a wood bat, which is vital to keeping the bat in one piece.

“You have to concentrate a lot more,” Huber said. “If you aren’t ready, you will break the bat.”

Vaculik said that pitching against wood bats gives him more confidence because most players at this level are not used to hitting with the wood.

“You can go after everybody because they usually don’t know how to hit with wood bats,” Vaculik said. “The bloop hits don’t fall like they do with aluminum.”

All three players hope to use their summer success as a stepping-stone into their fall training and ultimately their final seasons in a Panther uniform.

Eastern is returning a majority of their players from last season’s team that went 17-10 in the OVC, leading to high expectations.

“All the seniors in the program have been here for four years and our goal is to make it to regionals,” Vaculik said.