May 28, 2010

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State University head baseball coach Steve Lyon announced the signing of six student-athletes to attend and play baseball at Grand Valley State. Jacob Cox (RHP, Dowagiac, Mich./Lake Michigan C.C.), Ryan Garman (RHP, Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Johnson County C.C.), Anthony Campanella (RHP, Roselle, Ill./Elgin C.C.), Derrik Strzalkowski (C/1B, London, Ont./Kellogg C.C.), Garrett Yatch (Midland, Mich./Kellogg C.C.) and Billy Maple (LHP, Portage, Mich./Vicksburg) will officially begin their careers at GVSU in the fall of 2010.

Cox turned in an 8-4 record at Lake Michigan in 2010 after sporting a 4-0 mark with a 2.85 ERA in 2009. Garman was 7-3 at Johnson County his sophomore year with a 3.45 ERA in 67.0 innings pitched. Garman tallied 57 strikeouts recorded five complete games in his 12 starts on the hill. Campanella was 7-2 as a sophomore in 2010 with an ERA of 2.85. He recorded 50 strikeouts and allowed just 20 earned runs in 63.0 innings pitched. Campanella was 6-1 as a freshman in 2009 for a combined record of 13-3 during his two years at Elgin. Strzalkowski hit .393 with 55 hits, 35 RBIs and 38 runs scored for Kellogg, while his teammate, Garrett Yatch, hit .382 with 47 hits, 48 runs scored 24 RBI and 23 stolen bases. Maple is 7-3 during his senior season with a 1.69 ERA in 58.1 innings pitched. He has recorded 102 strikeouts and allowed just 32 hits.

"We went into the recruiting process with specific needs and we feel like we have filled those needs," said Laker head coach Steve Lyon. "We needed frontline starting pitching and obviously we have a couple of big holes on the infield to fill with the loss of seniors Kyle Gendron (2B) and Cory Maguire (1B)," added Lyon.

GVSU finished the 2010 campaign with a 37-16 record and advanced to the Midwest Regional final for the seventh time in the last nine years. The Lakers have four NCAA DII World Series appearances since 2002.