Lakeland College

Baseball Receives No. 9 Spot in NAC Preseason Coaches' Poll

Athletics - posted on 2/21/2008

The Lakeland College baseball team is picked to finish ninth in the Northern Athletics Conference this season according to the preseason coaches' poll, as the results were announced Thursday.

The Muskies received 50 points behind No. 8 Dominican University (66) and in front of No. 10 Wisconsin Lutheran College (33).

Edgewood College was selected to take the 2008 NAC title, as the Eagles received six of the 12 first-place votes and 136 points. Concordia University Chicago followed closely with 133 points to take the No. 2 spot and three more first-place votes, while Rockford College captured the remaining three top votes to round out the top three with 116 points.

Lakeland battled through a tough 12-22 (8-12 NAC) campaign in 2007, finishing ninth in the NAC, and will look to take steps toward a better record this season. The Muskies move into 2008 without last year's honorable mention All-NAC selections Mitch Heinemeyer, third base, Tyler Schmitt, center field, and Zach Schmitz, pitcher. Schmitt and Heinemeyer led the team at the plate with .360 and .330 batting averages, respectively, with Heinemeyer also recording team-highs in RBI (26) and home runs (5). Although the squad lost several other members of its starting line-up that accounted for much of the squad's batting and fielding power, they return several juniors and seniors with a good deal of playing experience and a talented group of newcomers.

Edgewood finished second in the conference last season with a 15-5 NAC record, 26-13 overall. The Eagles will return their entire pitching rotation and almost all of their batting order from last season, as they lost just one senior from last year's team.

Concordia University Chicago (27-16-1, 14-6 NAC) was the NAC tournament runner-up last year and finished third in the conference standings in 2007. The Cougars return preseason All-American Jack Walker, who batted .397 in 44 games last season and led the team in hits (71), runs (60) and walks (34).

Rockford College clinched last season's NAC regular season and tournament titles with a 29-12, 16-4 NAC record. However, the Regents lost two All-NAC members from last year's squad, including Fabian Gomez, 2007 NAC Player of the Year, to the MLB Draft.

The complete Northern Athletics Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll follows:

2008 NAC Preseason Poll

1. Edgewood College (6), 136
2. Concordia University Chicago (3), 133
3. Rockford College (3), 116
4. Marian College, 106
5. Aurora University, 89
6. Concordia University Wisconsin, 85
7. Benedictine University, 82
8. Dominican University, 66
9. Lakeland College, 50
10. Wisconsin Lutheran College, 33
11. MSOE, 26
12. Maranatha Baptist Bible College, 14

First place votes in parentheses.

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