Nolan Czako and the rest of the Beecher Muskies play for the love of the game.
They don’t get paid for playing semipro baseball. But there is kind of an exception to this rule.
Every year, the Muskies award a scholarship to a deserving player in memory of Pat Rademacher, a former Muskie who died along with his children in a car wreck in 1998.
“Steve Lane was our shortstop and he said, ‘You know, we should do a scholarship in Pat’s memory,'” Muskies manager Fred LeSage said last month after a game at the NABF Major World Series in Wheaton.
The Rademacher family donated toward the scholarship and every offseason the Muskies raise funds for it as well.
“Pat was a very unique guy,” LeSage said. “He was a military veteran. He was an educator. He was a coach. And he was a baseball player, he was a Muskie. …
“It was a very terrible time in my life when that happened because Pat was my friend. … We’ve tried to make something good out of something that was really awful.”
Czako, a second-year Muskies third baseman, was an obvious choice to be this year’s recipient.
“He’s just a great kid,” LeSage said. “He’s very much a team player. … There’s not a greater kid that ever played for us. …
“We were unanimous among the coaching staff.”
Czako finished the season strong for the Muskies, who reached the quarterfinals of the NABF Major World Series before being eliminated. He was 7-for-12 (.583) in four games at the World Series with three doubles, four runs and six RBIs.
He was one of three Muskies to make the all-tournament team with pitcher Bryce Shafer and shortstop Gabe McHugh.
For the season, Czako batted .265 in 28 games with five doubles, two home runs and 21 RBIs.
Czako graduated this spring from Loras College in Iowa with a degree in finance. He’ll use the scholarship to pursue a master’s in data analytics and will use his final season of eligibility to play for the Duhawks in 2027.
He was thrilled to receive the scholarship.
“It’s the coolest honor I could have,” Czako said. “I mean, you look back at some of the past winners … one example is (current catcher) Marty Coyle, who has carried me through the year and just helped me so much. …
“I can’t wait to come back and see some of the future scholarship (winners).”