2017 GLIAC Preseason Baseball Poll Released
The University of Findlay baseball team was picked to finish tenth in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) this season as the league office unveiled their annual preseason poll on Feb. 7.
The Oilers received 24 points in the poll. Grand Valley State was picked as the favorite, accumulating 94 points and seven first place votes.
The Oilers finished last season with a 17-28 record and will return eight starters. Junior Pete Burkett led the team last year with a batting average of .309 on the strength of eight multi-hit games. Sophomore Derrick Herd and junior Josh Schwerer will bat near the top of the lineup again this year after combining for 69 hits last year. Schwerer led the team with three home runs and 11 stolen bases while Herd led the squad with 37 hits.
On the mound, second team all-GLIAC senior Austin Rodesky will maintain his role as the team's ace. Last year, Rodesky pitched 74.2 innings and had an ERA of 3.25, the third-best ERA in the league last year. He also had a University of Findlay record 98 strikeouts with a strikeout per game rate of 11.81, second-best in the league. After walking 36 batters in 58.2 innings his sophomore year, Rodesky was locked in last year, walking six less batters in nearly 20 more innings of work.