Feb. 27, 2009

Bay City, Mich. - Grand Valley State was picked second in 2009 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) preseason coaches' that was released by the league office Thursday (Feb. 26). Ashland University received five first-place votes and tallied 45 points to just edge out the Lakers who received two first-place votes and tallied 44 points. Wayne State received one first-place vote and notched 36 points to land third, followed by Saginaw Valley State in fourth. Each of the GLIAC's eight head coaches ranked the teams in the conference, but were not allowed to rank their own team. The first-place team on each ballot received seven points, while the second-place team received six points, etc. Grand Valley State will open the 2009 season Sunday, March 1 in Winter Haven, Florida versus West Virginia Wesleyan at 9 a.m.

Grand Valley State returns seven position starters and four starting pitchers to the mix for the 2009 campaign. The Lakers captured their sixth straight GLIAC title and advanced to the NCAA DII North Central Regional for the seventh consecutive year in 2008.

Senior LHP Andre Benjamin earned First-Team All-ABCA and All-GLIAC honors in 2008 after posting a 10-1 record with a 3.09 ERA. Benjamin notched 54 strikeouts 75.2 innings of work. Junior RHP/3B Brad Raj was 6-2 with a 4.37 ERA on the mound, while hitting .315 with 29 hits and 21 runs scored at 3rd base. Sophomore Joe Jablonski was 5-0 with a 2.77 ERS in 39.0 innings of work, while David Bowman tallied six saves and a 2-2 record in 18 appearances. Sophomore Danny Richad most of the 2008 season with an injury, but posted a 3-0 record with a 3.42 ERA and 22 strikeouts in his three starts. Senior Ben Knuth posted a 2-0 record at Pittsburg in 2007 and will round out the Laker pitching staff.

Senior CF Casey Robrahn was a First-Team All-ABCA and All-GLIAC performer a year ago. Robrahn hit .451 with 73 hits, 14 doubles, 43 RBIs and 47 runs scored. OF Matt Nickels hit .367 with 40 hits, 30 runs and 18 RBIs, while INF Josh Hillyard hit at a .356 clip with 57 hits, 31 RBIs and 46 runs scored. 1B Cory Maguire tallied a .343 BA with 47 hits, 37 RBIs and four HRs. INF Dan Anstedt hit .337 with 34 hits, 33 RBIs and 21 runs scored, while Bobby Walmsley will handle the duties behind the dish. 2B Kyle Gendron and OF Torre Aquirre will be expected to make significant contributions.

The 2009 GLIAC postseason baseball tournament is slated for May 7-9 in Chillicothe, Ohio. All games will be played at Chillicothe's V.A. Memorial Stadium, home of the Chillicothe Paints, a Class "A" member of the independent Frontier League, which fields teams throughout Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri.

2009 GLIAC Baseball
Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank School (first-place votes) Points
1. Ashland (5) 45
2. Grand Valley State (2) 44
3. Wayne  State (1) 36
4. Saginaw Valley State 31
5. Findlay 25
6. Tiffin 18
7. Hillsdale 15
8. Northwood 10