2017 GLIAC Baseball Tournament Central
BAY CITY, Mich. -- The field is set for the 2017 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Baseball Tournament beginning Thursday, May 11th at the Athletes in Action Sports Complex in Xenia, Ohio. The six-team, double-elimination format will run through Sunday when a tournament champion will be crowned.
Northwood earned the No. 1 seed after the Timberwolves captured the 2017 GLIAC Baseball Regular-Season Championship for the first time in program history following a 26-6 conference record and a 39-11 overall record. NU is currently the No. 1 ranked team in the region and are led by junior pitcher Tyler Jandron who boasts a league-best 2.61 earned-run average, 80 strikeouts and ten victories, while freshman David Vinsky is hitting .444 on the season with 50 runs batted in. The Timberwolves square-off with No. 6 Hillsdale Thursday morning at 10:30 AM who grabbed the final berth on the final day of the regular season. The Chargers are paced by catcher Steven Ring who leads the league with 16 home runs and 61 RBIs, while Will Kruse racked up nine wins and 79 strikeouts on the mound.
Wayne State clinched the No. 2 seed following a 20-10 mark in GLIAC play and faces No. 5 Grand Valley State in Thursday's first round contest scheduled for 2:00 PM. WSU feature high-octance pitching as the Warriors lead the league in strikeouts per nine innings at 8.55 in league action, including shutdown closers in Tyler Tompson and Taylor Horn. Brad Baldwin guides the Wayne State offense with a league-high 20 doubles and .521 on-base-percentage, while batting .436 (2nd best) in GLIAC games. GVSU amassed a .328 batting average in league play this season aided by Seth Johnson's .425 average on 51 hits to go with 28 RBIs. Ryan Arnold leads the Lakers on the mound with a 2.38 conference ERA, second best in league play.
The final matchup of Thursday features No. 3 Tiffin battling No. 4 Walsh at approximately 5:30 PM at Grady's Field. Luke Fraley was the workhorse on the mound for Tiffin throwing 58.1 innings on the year resulting in a 3.70 ERA, 8.33 K/9 and six victories - fourth best in the league. Kyle Lento batted .364 on the year with 40 hits and 31 RBI to lead the Dragons offensively. Walsh's Matt Iosue recorded the lowest ERA (2.16) in league contests to go with an impressive 10.37 K/9, while allowing only 31 hits in 41.2 innings of work. Andrew Stalnaker led the Cavs at the dish with a .409 batting average in league action to go with 33 RBI, while Austin Szink racked up 45 RBIs overall in 2017.
Follow all the action on the 2017 GLIAC Baseball Tournament Central page for links to live stats and video.