Grand Valley State’s Steve Anderson and Tiffin’s Pat Curtin Named 2012 GLIAC Baseball “Co-Players of the Year”

Grand Valley State’s Steve Anderson and Tiffin’s Pat Curtin  Named 2012 GLIAC Baseball “Co-Players of the Year”

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BAY CITY, Mich. — Grand Valley State University senior outfielder Steve Anderson (Northville, Mich.) and Tiffin University senior pitcher/outfielder Pat Curtin (Mason, Ohio/Moeller) were named the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) baseball “Co-Players of the Year” by the league’s head coaches in all-conference balloting. GVSU senior Kyle Schepel (Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian) was named the 2012 GLIAC baseball “Pitcher of the Year.”

The coaches named Grand Valley State rookie Mike Nadratowski (Canton, Mich./Plymouth) the conference’s “Freshman of the Year,” while Steve Lyon, head coach of GVSU baseball team, was tabbed the “Coach of the Year.”

Anderson has been named the 2012 GLIAC “Co-Player of the Year,” the second straight season a Laker outfielder has won the award and the sixth GVSU player to win the award overall. Anderson is batting .374 with 64 hits, 15 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 41 RBI. Anderson leads the GLIAC in RBI (41) and is tied for first in hits (64) and triples (4). He ranks in the top 10 of eight hitting categories in the GLIAC, has 22 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI games. Anderson, a two-time First Team All-GLIAC honoree, set new GVSU career records in RBI (171) and total bases (377) and is second in career hits (243) and home runs (26).

Curtin, a senior pitcher and outfielder, has posted a .400 batting average this season, which currently ranks second in the GLIAC and is among the top 50 in Division II.  He has scored 29 runs, and driven in 18 runs while recording three doubles. His four triples this season lead the GLIAC.  On the mound, Curtin is 5-1 with two saves and two complete games in 10 appearances. He has posted 31 strikeouts and a 3.49 earned run average in 38.7 innings of work.  During the season he became just the third player in TU history to reach 200 career hits, while his 215 career hits currently rank third in school history. He broke the school record for putouts with 865.

Schepel has been named the 2012 GLIAC “Pitcher of the Year,” the fourth Laker to earn the honor and the first since 2006. Schepel is 9-3 with a 1.91 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 70.2 innings pitched this season. Schepel leads the GLIAC in wins (9) and is tied for first in strikeouts (84), while ranking third in ERA (1.91). Schepel has three 10-strikeout games this year, was part of three shutouts on the season and had three games of at least six innings pitched, three hits or less allowed and nine or more strikeouts. Schepel has three complete games, including a three-hitter against Northwood with 10 strikeouts and a one-hitter against Findlay with nine strikeouts. Schepel took over the career GVSU record in victories (31) and strikeouts (251) this season and is ranked sixth all-time in GLIAC history for wins and ninth in strikeouts.

Nadratowski has been named the 2012 GLIAC “Freshman of the Year,” the second straight Laker to win the award and the fifth overall. Nadratowski leads the GLIAC in batting average (.410) and on-base percentage (.492), while tying for the GLIAC lead in hits (64) and ranking fifth in stolen bases (17). Nadratowski collected 22 multi-hit games, had a 20-game reached-base streak and a 12-game hitting streak. Nadratowski has been one of the most dangerous lead-off hitters in the country, reaching base 47-of-75 (.627) times as the lead-off hitter in an inning.

Lyon is in his 14th season at Grand Valley State and has guided the Lakers to a 37-13 overall record with a 27-9 mark in the GLIAC, the third-highest conference win total in GLIAC history. Lyon has a career record of 546-202-2 (.729), a career GLIAC record of 316-110-2 (.741) and is announcing his retirement following the 2012 campaign. It’s the third GLIAC Coach of the Year award for Lyon (2003, 2011). Lyon has been named FieldTurf Division II National Baseball Coach of the Year twice (2007, 2011) and is a five-time recipient of the ABCA Midwest Regional Coach of the Year Award (2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2011).

A complete list of the 2012 All-GLIAC Baseball teams is below:

2012 GLIAC Baseball All-Conference Teams and Postseason Awards

 Co-Players of the Year:  Steve Anderson - Grand Valley State University / Pat Curtin - Tiffin University

Pitcher of the Year:  Kyle Schepel - Grand Valley State University

Freshman of the Year:  Mike Nadratowski - Grand Valley State University

Coach of the Year:  Steve Lyon - Grand Valley State University

GLIAC Baseball All-Conference First Team

Pos.

Name

School

Year

B/T

Hometown/Previous School

DH

Chris Stephens

Hillsdale

Sr.

R/R

Grosse Pointe, Mich./Farmington

C

Jared Cowan

Grand Valley State

Sr.

R/R

Davison, Mich.

1B

Giancarlo Brugnoni

Grand Valley State

So.

R/R

Grosse Pointe, Mich./De La Salle

2B

Bryan Cacqiue

Lake Erie

Sr.

R/R

Caracas, Venezuela/John I. Leonard

SS

Kevin Zak

Grand Valley State

RFr.

R/R

Novi, Mich.

3B

Val Helldobler

Tiffin

Sr.

R/R

Toledo, Ohio/St. John Jesuit

INF

Tommy Roush

Findlay

Jr.

L/R

Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont

OF

Steve Anderson

Grand Valley State

Sr.

R/R

Northville, Mich.

OF

Mike Blanchard

Hillsdale

Sr.

R/R

Hillsdale, Mich.

OF

Pat Curtin

Tiffin

Sr.

R/L

Mason, Ohio/Moeller

OF

Matt Toth

Lake Erie

Sr.

L/R

Lorain, Ohio/Admiral King

SP

Zach Botjer

Ashland

Jr.

R/R

Deshler, Ohio/Sinclair C.C.

SP

Ryan Garman

Grand Valley State

Sr.

R/R

Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Johnson County C.C.

SP

Mike Saunders

Saginaw Valley State

Jr.

R/R

Mt. Morris, Mich./E.A. Johnson

SP

Kyle Schepel

Grand Valley State

Sr.

L/R

Grand Rapids, Mich/Christian

RP

Brad Zambron

Grand Valley State

Jr.

L/L

Waterford, Mich./Brother Rice

GLIAC Baseball All-Conference Second Team

Pos.

Name

School

Year

B/T

Hometown/Previous School

DH

Pat Kilway

Lake Erie

Jr.

R/R

Tallmadge, Ohio

C

Brad Guenther

Wayne State

Jr.

L/R

Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline

1B

Jordan Chiero

Tiffin

Sr.

R/R

Gahanna, Ohio/New Albany

2B

Riley Christian

Findlay

Sr.

R/R

Detroit, Mich./Ga. Southern Univ.

SS

Andrew Ciennik

Wayne State

Sr.

R/R

Waterford, Mich./Mott

3B

Alex Trojan

Wayne State

Sr.

R/R

Fenton, Mich./Hartland

INF

Giancarlo Saia

Ashland

Fr.

L/R

Mentor, Ohio/Lake Catholic

OF

Mike Nadratowski

Grand Valley State

Fr.

L/L

Canton, Mich./Plymouth

OF

Austin Rinard

Northwood

Sr.

R/R

Homer, Mich./Kellogg C.C.

OF

Kyle Vesey

Wayne State

Sr.

L/R

Brighton, Mich.

OF

Ryan Williams

Tiffin

Jr.

R/R

Maumee, Ohio

SP

Adam Beach

Lake Erie

Jr.

R/R

Vermilion, Ohio

SP

Pat Curtin

Tiffin

Sr.

R/L

Mason, Ohio/Moeller

SP

Brian Kilway

Lake Erie

So.

R/R

Tallmadge, Ohio

SP

Matthew Reck

Hillsdale

Jr.

R/R

Grosse Pointe, Mich./South

RP

Billy Hurley

Wayne State

Sr.

R/R

Mississauga, Ont./Binghamton

GLIAC Baseball All-Conference Honorable Mention Team

Pos.

Name

School

Year

B/T

Hometown/Previous School

C

John Broll

Ashland

Jr.

L/R

Mississauga, Ontario/Genesee C.C.

INF

Wade Kaido

Ashland

So.

R/R

Zanesville, Ohio

C

David Cort

Findlay

Sr.

R/R

Tallmadge, Ohio/Stow

OF

Dustin Zielaskiewicz

Findlay

Sr.

R/R

Brunswick, Ohio

P

Cory Baker

Grand Valley State

Sr.

R/R

Byron Center, Mich./North Dakota

C

Zach Laupp

Grand Valley State

Sr.

R/R

Mattawan, Mich.

INF

Scott Lantis

Hillsdale

Jr.

R/R

Hillsdale, Mich.

P

Kris Morris

Hillsdale

Sr.

L/R

Commerce, Mich./O.L. St. Mary's

3B

Cody Blood

Lake Erie

Jr.

R/R

Conneaut, Ohio

P

Doug Fox

Lake Erie

Jr.

L/L

Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge

INF

Pat Schlenke

Northwood

Jr.

R/R

Novi, Mich.

P/INF

Jake Winicki

Northwood

So.

R/R

Birmingham, Mich./Brother Rice

OF

John Bowron

Ohio Dominican

Sr.

R/R

Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne

C

Kyle Tisdale

Ohio Dominican

Fr.

R/R

Uniontown, Ohio/Lake

P

Carson Beauchaine

Saginaw Valley State

Jr.

R/R

Fraser, Mich.

OF

Brandon Schwanz

Saginaw Valley State

Sr.

L/R

Novi, Mich./Henry Ford C.C.

P

Jordan Liette

Tiffin

Sr.

R/R

Versailles, Ohio/Limestone

C

K.C. Weber

Tiffin

Jr.

R/R

Pataskala, Ohio/Wright State

P

Alex Pierse

Wayne State

Jr.

L/L

Clinton Twp., Mich. / De La Salle

P

Ethan Vasiliauskas

Wayne State

Jr.

R/R

South Rockwood, Mich./Jackson C.C.