Ashland's Stephen James & Ohio Dominican's Ryan Colegate Headline 2015 GLIAC Baseball Postseason Awards

Ashland's Stephen James & Ohio Dominican's Ryan Colegate Headline 2015 GLIAC Baseball Postseason Awards

BAY CITY, Mich. -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced its 2015 All-GLIAC Baseball Teams and Postseason Awards in conjunction with the Conference's annual Baseball Tournament at the Athletes in Action Sports Complex in Xenia, Ohio. The awards were voted on by the conference baseball coaches and include the first ever recipient Troy Berry Award.

Ashland senior second baseman Stephen James is the 2015 GLIAC Player of the Year after leading the GLIAC as one of the league's premiere hitters for the better part of the entire 2015 season, and finished the regular season leading the conference in RBIs (47), runs scored (58), doubles (17), home runs (11) and slugging percentage (.713). James was also second in the GLIAC in hits (69), third in batting average (.388) and tied for third in triples (four).

Ohio Dominican junior starting pitcher Ryan Colegate has been selected 2015 GLIAC Pitcher of the Year after he finished the regular season as the conference leader in wins (nine) and ERA (1.70) while ranking second in innings pitched (69.0). He only allowed more than one earned run in one start this spring and tossed three complete games. Colegate threw at least six innings in every start and has only allowed five earned runs in his last six starts, spanning 43 innings (1.05 ERA). Opponents batted just .205 off of him this season.

Ohio Dominican's Lee Sponseller was voted 2015 GLIAC Freshman Player of the Year after a rookie campaign where he finished the regular season as the conference leader in batting average (.407) and on-base percentage (.505) while ranking third in the GLIAC in slugging (.620). He totaled six home runs and 38 RBI as well. Sponseller reached base in 40 of 45 games for the Panthers, tallied 19 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games. He had a 15-game hitting streak to start the season.

Saginaw Valley starting pitcher Michael Ellenbest was tabbed 2015 GLIAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year following a stellar first season on the mound for the Cardinals.  He posted a 4-2 league record with an ERA of 0.97.  He twirled two complete games, posting one shutout and combining for another in a nine-inning affair.  He posted 44 strikeouts in just 37.0 innings pitched in the GLIAC, holding hitters to an average of .187.  Ellenbest finished the season with four consecutive victories and 26.0 scoreless innings.

Ashland head coach John Schaly guided the Eagles to not only the GLIAC regular-season championship with a 22-10 conference mark, but also the first-ever GLIAC South Division championship. AU's record-season title is its fourth under Schaly. Ashland's 33-15 regular-season record overall led GLIAC schools. Schaly's 1,000th collegiate win came on March 1, and earned him a spot with his father, Don, as the only father-son combo at four-year institutions to each win at least 1,000 games.
Wayne State redshirt senior Christian Bilkovic received the distinguished inaugural Troy Berry Award. The award will be presented annually to the GLIAC baseball player who best combines outstanding character and leadership on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The honor is named after former Findlay head baseball coach Troy Berry.

Bilkovic has been a leader since he arrived at WSU five years ago. He is currently serving as the S.A.A.C. co-president and is a two-time semifinalist for Coach John Wooden Citizenship Cup, which is presented to student-athletes who have made the greatest difference in the lives of others. Last month, he was selected (out of over 1,000 applicants) to participate in the NCAA Career in Sports Forum. A three-time member of the GLIAC All-Academic Team, he recently received a university Dean's Award from the College of Education for having the highest cumulative grade-point average of any student-athlete in that college. In 2013, he was a finalist for the Lisa V. Ford Heart & Soul Award for his leadership and individual commitment to community service and helped the baseball team earn the Salvation Army's "Doing the Most Good" award, which honors any individual, organization or corporation exemplifying an extraordinary spirit of service and collaboration with The Salvation Army in "Doing the Most Good" in times of disaster, crisis or severe need.

A complete list of the 2015 All-GLIAC baseball teams is below:

2015 GLIAC Baseball Postseason Awards

Player of the Year:

Stephen James - Ashland

Pitcher of the Year:

Ryan Colegate - Ohio Dominican

Freshman Player of the Year:

Lee Sponseller - Ohio Dominican

Freshman Pitcher of the Year:

Michael Ellenbest - Saginaw Valley

Troy Berry Award:

Christian Bilkovic - Wayne State

Coach of the Year:

John Schaly - Ashland

2015 All-GLIAC Baseball First-Team

Position

Name

School

Yr.

Hometown/Previous School 

DH Blake Bellman Ashland Jr. Wooster, Ohio / Northwestern
C Kyle Tisdale Ohio Dominican Sr. Uniontown, Ohio / Lake
1B Mackenzie Hampshire Ashland Jr. Delphos, Ohio / Elida
2B Stephen James Ashland Sr. Westlake, Ohio / Westlake
SS Kevin Zak Grand Valley State R-Sr. Novi, Mich. / Novi
3B Nick Hueneburg Tiffin Jr. Peru, Ill. / St. Bede's
INF Mike Lewandowski Ashland Jr. Hudson, Ohio / Hudson
OF Lee Sponseller Ohio Dominican R-Fr. Mason, Ohio / Mason
OF Jamie Potts Grand Valley State Sr. Ravenna, Mich. / Muskegon Oakridge
OF Luke Ortel Hillsdale Jr. Troy, Mich. / Bishop Foley
OF Aaron Lindgren Lake Erie Sr. Willoughby, Ohio / Willoughby South
SP Ryan Colegate Ohio Dominican Jr. Centerville, Ohio / Centerville
SP Patrick Kelly Grand Valley State R-Jr. Brookfield, Ill. / Nazareth Academy
SP Jake Baldwin Ashland Jr. Madison Heights, Mich. / Lamphere
SP Joe Costello Malone Jr. Canton, Ohio / Canton South
RP Matt Williams Grand Valley State So. Geneva, Ill. / Northern Illinois University
RP Vince Bartolone Ohio Dominican Sr. Broadview Heights, Ohio / St. Edward

2015 All-GLIAC Baseball Second-Team

Position

Name

School

Yr.

Hometown/Previous School

DH
Hayden Mobley
Malone
Sr.
Winesburg, Ohio / Berlin Hiland / West Liberty
C Connor Glick Grand Valley State Fr. Niles, Mich. / Niles
1B Chris McDonald Hillsdale Jr. Livonia, Mich. / Stevenson
2B Tony Evans Ohio Dominican So. Medway, Ohio / Tecumseh
SS Dustin Lee Northwood Jr. Mt. Pleasant, Mich. / Mt. Pleasant
3B Chris Perkovich Saginaw Valley Sr. Canton, Mich. / Canton
INF Zach DeCamp Lake Erie Jr. Gahanna, Ohio / St. Francis DeSales
OF Mike Nadratowski Grand Valley State Sr. Canton, Mich. / Plymouth
OF Joe Gonzalez Ashland So. Millersburg, Ohio / West Holmes
OF Matt Wheeler Malone Sr. New Philadelphia, Ohio / Indian Valley / Lakeland CC
OF Andrew Bonnette Walsh Sr. Tallmadge, Ohio / Tallmadge
SP Scott Sency Saginaw Valley So. Medina, Ohio / Medina
SP Brandyn Sittinger Ashland So. LaGrange, Ohio / Marshall University
SP Michael Ellenbest Saginaw Valley Fr. Medina, Ohio / Medina
SP Joshua Hurford Malone Fr. Sebring, Ohio / Sebring McKinley
RP Jeff Sorenson Wayne State R-Sr. Livonia, Mich. / Stevenson
RP Alex Smith Ashland Jr. Piqua, Ohio / Lehman Catholic
2015 All-GLIAC Baseball Honorable Mention Team
Position Name School Yr. Hometown/Previous School
OF/C Kyle Brooks Ashland Sr. Akron, Ohio / Mercyhurst Northeast CC
P Art Warren Ashland Jr. Napoleon, Ohio / Cincinnati
P Austin Rodesky Findlay So. Bowling Green, Ohio / Bowling Green
P Alex Williams Findlay Sr. Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg
OF Jason Ribecky Grand Valley State Jr. Muskegon, Mich. / Muskegon C.C.
RP Kevin Hallberg Grand Valley State Sr. Lansing, Ill. / South Suburban College
P Dan Pochmara Hillsdale Sr. Farmington, Mich. / Farmington
INF Vinny Delicata Hillsdale Sr. Sterling Heights, Mich. / Parkway Christian
RP Brandon Grunda Lake Erie Sr. Elyria, Ohio / Elyria
UTL Lou Peterlin Lake Erie Jr. Mentor, Ohio / Lake Catholic
C Matt Davis Malone Jr. Canton, Ohio / McKinley
P Gunnar Smeyres Malone So. Massillon, Ohio / Canton Central Catholic
P Alex Lewandowski Northwood So. Macomb, Mich. / Dakota
OF Travis Smith Northwood Sr. Clare, Mich. / Clare
CF Jacob Tisevich Ohio Dominican Fr. North Canton, Ohio / GlenOak
SP Joe Filosa Ohio Dominican Fr. Fort Wayne, Ind. / Northrop
2B/OF Chad Carson Saginaw Valley So. Attica, Mich. / Lapeer East
P Jeff Schalk Saginaw Valley Sr. Sterling Heights, Mich. / Bishop Foley
UTL Elijah Sanabria Tiffin Jr. Brooklyn, N.Y. / Tele. Arts & Technology
P Logan Sendelbach Tiffin Jr. Tiffin, Ohio / Hopewell Loudon
1B/DH Andrew Stalnaker Walsh So. Canton, Ohio / Jackson
C Austin Szink Walsh R-So. Canton, Ohio / Jackson
1B/P Jared Tobey Wayne State Fr. St. Clair, Mich. / St. Clair
INF Bradley Baldwin Wayne State Fr. Troy, Mich. / Bishop Foley Catholic