The Hope College baseball team is second in the 2015 Michigan
Intercollegiate Athletic Association Preseason Coaches
Poll.
Coach Stu Fritz's Flying Dutchmen received one first-place vote
and totaled 13 points.
Hope trailed defending champion Adrian, which collected all
seven possible first-place votes for seven points. Coaches could
not vote for their own teams.
Photo of Matt Glowacki by
Rob Kurtycz
MIAA Preseason poll results
(first-place votes in parenthesis)
1. Adrian (7) 7 pts
2. Hope 13 (1)
3. Calvin 26
4. Albion 28
5. Kalamazoo 30
6. Trine 34
7. Alma 37
8. Olivet 49
Hope brings back two-time All-MIAA infielder Brady
VanderWeele and its four top pitchers this season.
VanderWeele, a junior, is moving to shortstop from
second base after hitting .323
last season.
Senior righthander Currey Thomas
returns after posting a team-high five wins on the mound in 2014.
He is joined by three teammates who totaled four wins apiece:
junior Austin Goodyke,
junior Jake
Chipka and sophomore Ty Van
Wieren.
The Flying Dutchmen finished 22-21 overall and third in the MIAA
last season.
Hope opens the 2015 season with its annual spring break trip to
Florida on Friday, March 13-Thursday, March 19.
