Northwood Captures Second Straight GLIAC Title; 2018 GLIAC Baseball Tournament Preview

Northwood Captures Second Straight GLIAC Title; 2018 GLIAC Baseball Tournament Preview

2018 GLIAC Baseball Tournament Central

GLIAC -- The field is set for the 2018 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Baseball Tournament presented by Raymond James of Dearborn beginning Thursday, May 10th at the Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL) Corner at the Ballpark in Detroit. 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 2018 GLIAC Baseball Regular-Season Championship for the second consecutive season following a 21-7 conference record and a 34-14 overall mark. NU is currently the No. 3 ranked team in the region and are led by senior pitcher Tyler Jandron who boasts a league-best 1.93 earned-run average, 82 strikeouts and eight victories, while sophomore David Vinsky is hitting .406 on the season with 45 runs batted in. Colin McClelland (53) and Javier Martinez (49) were two of the top RBI leaders in the league this season for NU. The Timberwolves square-off on Thursday (May 10) morning at 11 A.M. with No. 6 Tiffin who grabbed the final berth after a 9-17 league record. The Dragons are paced by Alec McCurry who is hitting .329 on the year with 33 RBI.

Conference newcomer Davenport clinched the No. 2 seed following a 20-8 mark in GLIAC play and faces No. 5 Grand Valley State in Thursday's first round contest. DU boasts a strong pitching staff guided by Andrew Click who holds the best ERA in conference play (1.94). His teammate Grant Wolfram leads the league in strikeouts along with the fourth best conference ERA (3.09). The Panthers led the GLIAC in batting average (.325), doubles and triples thanks in part to Zac Wilson who hit .379 on the season with 48 RBI, ten home runs, and 21 stolen bases. GVSU (ranked No. 5 in region) features Ryan Blake-Jones who led the league in batting average (.423) to gow ith 48 RBI and 43 runs scored. Jacob Gleason drove in 49 runs this season, while Kyle Lawson amassed ten saves as the GVSU closer.

The final matchup of Thursday features No. 3 Ashland (No. 7 region) battling No. 4 Wayne State at approximately 6:00 PM on Thursday. AU's Connor Barleben is having a monster season hitting .359 with 11 homers, 50 RBI (2nd best in GLIAC) and 40 runs scored, while Carson Mittermaier is hitting a stellar .397 on the season. The Eagles are managed by ABCA Hall of Famer John Schaly whose pitching staff is paced by Devin Peters who has racked up 78 strikeouts this season. Jared Tobey leads Wayne State into the postseason with 79 strikeouts and a 3.79 ERA while JT Conti is hitting .388 this year for the No. 8 team in the latest region rankings.

Follow all the action on the 2018 GLIAC Baseball Tournament Central page for links to live stats and video.