Doggy Paddlers’ look to second half of season after nailing playoff bid
Published 6:41 pm Tuesday, June 30, 2026
QUINCY – The Doggy Paddlers extraordinary season got another boost Tuesday morning with three players named to next week’s All-Star Game in Indiana.
Representing the good guys in the Hoosier State will be third baseman Ean Czech, infielder Nick Griffith and catcher Brodie Short.
“They definitely deserve it; they’ve definitely been great,” Doggy Paddlers field manager Ryan Fultz, said in a phone interview from the team bus while the team was on its way to Lafayette for a Tuesday night game against the Aviators.
The Prospect League’s All-Star festivities are up to bat beginning Monday as Short will compete in the Home Run Derby, followed by the actual All-Star game next Tuesday, July 7, both in Layfette, Ind.
“It’s going to be fun the guys who got in deserve it,” the field manager said.
All three are having a season for the ages as the local squad has been dominating – especially at home at Quincy Stadium – this season.
Czech – a highly touted player from Downers Grove, Ill. – leads not only the Doggy Paddlers, but also the Prospect League (PL), with a .470 batting average, heading into the final week of games before the All-Star break. The breakout star also places third overall in hits with 39.
Short, out of O’Fallon, Mo., has also been a hot bat for Quincy and is third in the League in batting average, sitting at 4.56 as of Tuesday morning. He also leads the team in homeruns, with seven, good for fourth place in the PL in that stat. Short, attending Lindenwood University, is also fourth in total bases with 59, and fourth in his on base percentage (.592) as of Tuesday morning.
For his part, Griffith, from Lexington, Ky, leads the local team and the Prospect League with 12 doubles and ranks in the top 10 in both total bases (seventh place) and triples hit, in which he sits in 10th place. Playing his college ball last season at Morehead State University, he was named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Freshman team.
Notably absent from the list of Doggy Paddlers’ All-Stars was infielder and designated hitter Brady Kindhart, one of the top DHs in the League, and the skipper agreed with that assessment when he was asked about it by The Quincy Herald-Whig. Kindhart, a Payson, Ill. native and graduate of Quincy Notre Dame High School, is fifth in the League in homeruns, knocking six out of the park to date a little more than halfway through this season.
The All-Star game will air live on the Prospect League Network beginning at 5:40 p.m. CT next Tuesday. The Home Run Derby will air live on the same network beginning at 6:45 p.m. CT Monday.
From start to middle
Buoyed by Tuesday morning’s announcement, this year’s squad already had a lot to celebrate having clinched a playoff spot by locking down the Prospect League’s Northwest Division first half title last week. They will play the division’s second half winner on Aug. 4 at QU Stadium.
In securing that first-half crown, the Doggy Paddlers (17-12 as of Tuesday) have posted an impressive 13-1 record within the confines of Quincy Stadium. Along the way since the season began in late May, they have accumulated 244 runs, an overall batting average of ,323 and an on-base percentage of .431. Additionally, they have a slugging percentage of .510, and the team has notched 37 homeruns. Those numbers impressively also show the team leading the League in hitting and placing second place overall in base running.
Embracing all that has been accomplished in the first half of the season, the team now looks to maintain that momentum and build upon their success of the past two months as they enter the second turn in what has already been an exciting and accomplished year on the diamond.
Not that this breaking news to either Fultz or the team, as expectations were set high prior to the first pitch on the Doggy Paddlers’ season. And the Quincy players rose to the challenge.
“I think that if you don’t have the expectation of winning” those expectations won’t come to fruition, Fultz said, adding that “I’m pleased with how we swing (the bat), especially on the road. We need to do a little better job on the pitching side of things, but I’m very pleased with how we’re swinging the bat and playing defense.”
In the meantime, it’s all eyes on the upcoming sked, with an additional glance to next week’s All-Star break where they can relax, regroup and plan their strategy for the last several weeks of their season.
For the majority of the team, they can “go back on the bus and they can relax and they will have a chance to find some time away from baseball,” Fultz said.
In doing so, the Doggy Paddlers can prepare for the last month of the regular season, secure in knowing that their playoff ticket has already been punched.
“Moving forward, pitching is obviously the key,” Fultz said, adding that “I think we have some good arms. Some young guys are getting better and getting some innings in.”
As for the team’s home versus away record, the field manager isn’t all that concerned, especially with the schedule being in the Doggy Paddlers’ favor moving forward.
Speaking about the team’s schedule on the road where they currently are 4-11, Fultz noted that “we have more home games than away after this road trip,” and he is hopeful that maybe his boys can steal a couple of away games in July: “especially from Burlington.”
Leading up to the break, the local team is on the road all week starting with Lafayette Tuesday evening. They finish the week with away games against Champion City and Johnstown. The Doggy Paddlers return home next on July 9 to play the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. After that comes a Friday home face off against that same Illinois Valley squad. They wrap up that first home stand coming out of the gate following the event in Lafayette against the Cape Catfish of Cape Girardeau, Mo. on July 11. The Catfish are the South Division’s first half winners in the Prospect League this year.
Moving forward, the goal is clear: Continue to “build guys up and prepare for the playoffs.”
