ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Northwoods League has announced that University of Hawai'i catcher David Noworyta was named among the league's top defenders. For his efforts this summer with the Rochester Honkers, Noworyta is one of 10 recipients of the NL's 2017 Rawlings 'Finest in the Field' Award.
 
The annual award recognizes the top fielders at each position and Noworyta (r-Jr., Hainesport, N.J.) held a .996 fielding percentage as backstop for the Honkers. Additionally, he batted .273 with a pair of doubles, 21 runs and 14 RBI. Noworyta has played in 14 games during his career with the Rainbow Warriors.
 
Rawlings has been rewarding the top defenders in the Northwoods League since 2002. The recipients receive a special Rawlings engraved trophy.
 
The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 24-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 180 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (LAD) and Lucas Duda (TBR).