Lakeland College

Muskies tabbed eighth in coaches' poll

Athletics - posted on 2/15/2012

The Lakeland College baseball team has been selected to finish eighth in the Northern Athletics Conference by the league's coaches, as the NAC preseason poll was released Wednesday.

Aurora, which placed second in the league last year and won the NAC Tournament and the bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, was tabbed to finish first in the league this year. The Spartans receive seven first-place votes and 139 total points.

Concordia University Chicago, last year's NAC Champion, was selected to finish second, earing four first-place votes and 133 points. Benedictine University was selected to finish third with 115 points, while Rockford College received the final first-place vote and tallied 104 points.

The Muskies finished seventh in the conference in 2011 after posting a 11-11 record in NAC play to go along with a 16-19 overall mark. This season first-year head coach Michael Bachar hopes to return the Muskies to the conference tournament for the first time in five years.

Lakeland returns five starters including senior Mike Ruzek (Manitowoc, Wis.) who was named All-NAC honorable mention in 2011 and led the team with a .402 batting average. The Muskies also return two other seniors, Garrett Vincetich-Morris (Janesville, Wis.) and Jess Nickel (Waupun, Wis.)

Lakeland opens the 2012 season at the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., on March 11 against Nichols College.

To hear Lakeland head coach Michael Bachar's thoughts on the poll, click here.

Poll points were compiled on a 12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, with the 12 head coaches voting for all 12 teams.

For the complete conference release, click here.

2012 Northern Athletics Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Aurora (7), 139
2. Concordia Chicago (4), 133
3. Benedictine, 115
4. Rockford (1), 104
5. Edgewood, 97
6. Concordia Wisconsin, 76
Marian, 76
8. Lakeland, 54
9. Wisconsin Lutheran, 52
10. Dominican, 47
11. MSOE, 31
12. Maranatha, 12