Former QU All-American infielder Croes to play in American Association all-star game

FRANKLIN, Wis. — Throughout Dayson Croes’ three-year stint as an All-American infielder for the Quincy University baseball team, his coaches continually used a two-word phrase to describe Aruba native.

Professional hitter.

He’s proving just how accurate that is.

The left-handed hitting Croes will represent the Winnipeg Goldeyes in Tuesday’s American Association of Professional Baseball all-star game, being played at Franklin Field, home of the Milwaukee Milkmen. Croes is the league’s third-leading hitter with a .342 average during the first half of his rookie season.

The all-star game is scheduled for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch. The game is being streamed at aabaseballtv.com and requires a subscription.

Signed by the Goldeyes in March, Croes opened the season hitting leadoff and going 2 for 4 with two RBIs in a 6-1 victory over the Gary SouthShore RailCats. He went 0 for 3 the next night before embarking on the longest hitting streak in the 12-team American Association this season.

From May 14 to June 13, Croes hit safely in 25 consecutive games.

After going hitless in back-to-back games — the streak was snapped with a 0-for-3 showing against Sioux and a 0-for-1 outing the next day as a pinch-hitter — Croes fashioned an 11-game hit streak and has hit safely in 21 of his last 25 starts.

Overall, Croes leads the American Association with 77 hits and has hits in 47 of the 55 games he’s played. He’s collected nine doubles, one home run, 37 RBIs and 25 walks, while striking out just 18 times in 225 at-bats. 

Croes played second and third base during his QU career, which spanned 2020-22. He collected 179 hits in 119 games with a .388 career average. He had 35 doubles, five triples, 20 home runs and 120 RBIs. He struck out just 34 times in 461 career at-bats.

As a junior in 2021, Croes was named a first-team All-American by the D2CCA and a second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He hit .436 with a .715 slugging percentage that season as the Hawks reached the NCAA Division II regionals for the seventh consecutive season.

He was a second-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection as a senior when he hit .343 as the Hawks won 37 games and reached the Midwest super-regional.