Griffins Come In At No. 2 In The SLIAC Preseason Poll

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) released the 2018 Baseball Preseason Poll and the Griffins come in at No. 2 in the West Division.

Webster holds the top spot as they collected seven first-place votes and 44 points overall. The Griffins are right behind them, though with 36 points and two first-place votes. Westminster (34), Iowa Wesleyan (21) and Eureka (15), rounded out the division.

In 2017, the Griffins closed out 18-21 (13-9 SLIAC) and saw Ethan Boyer, Ben Greenway and Ryan Schocker earn First Team honors. Michael Golich, Logan Mueth and Patrick Stuff collect Second Team accolades, while Jonathan Hoevelmann and Ethan Borrowmann rounded out the Third Team.

Three of those players, Schocker, Golich and Hoevelmann, all return in hopes of building off its own numbers and guiding the Griffins toward a successful 2018 season.

Schocker, a Schaumburg, Illinois, native, had a career-year at the dish where he batted .377, totaled 57 hits, 27 runs scored, 12 doubles, two homers, 41 RBI and slugged .510.

Golich, an Aurora, Illinois, native, was also named to the All-Region Third Team last season after putting up a .375 clip, to go along with his 60 hits, 43 runs scored, 15 RBI and 20 stolen bases. Hoevelmann, meanwhile, looks to be a key player in 2018 as he had a successful sophomore season where he hit .366, totaled 20 RBI and 21 stolen bases.

Austin Earnest, the 2016 Newcomer of the Year, missed the majority of last season with an injury but should be fully healthy for 2018. He will be joined on the mound by Luke Summers, a sophomore, that led the team in innings pitched a freshman last year. The Griffins are expecting their pitching staff to be filled out by a group of newcomers that include Ryan Howell, John Hughes, and Chris Little.

To view the entire SLIAC Preseason Poll visit HERE.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the Griffins baseball team.

Baseball West Division

Webster (7) 44

Fontbonne (2) 36

Westminster (1) 34

Iowa Wesleyan 21

Eureka 15

Baseball East Division
Greenville (8) 45

Spalding (2) 39

MacMurray 29

Blackburn 20

Principia 17