Fontbonne Baseball Picked To Finish Third In SLIAC Preseason Poll

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) released the 2023 Baseball Preseason Poll today and the Griffins come in at No. 3.

Reigning SLIAC Tournament Champion, the Webster Gorloks, hold the top spot with 49 points and seven first-place votes. They're followed by Spalding with 42 points and one first-place vote.

The Griffins are coming off a 2022 campaign where the team went 25-15 overall and 15-5 in SLIAC play. Fontbonne entered the SLIAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed, but fell to Spalding and Greenville to conclude its season.

This year, the Griffins look to replace the likes of All-Conference players Braeden Dobbs and Daniel Youngblood.

The pitching staff should be strong for the Griffins as they return the SLIAC Pitcher of the Year in Nick Glaser. The St. Louis, Mo., native, had a career-year in 2022 going 7-3 in 72.1 innings pitched, totaling 70 strikeouts and a 2.74 ERA.

Gavin Kinworthy also returns for his sophomore campaign as he looks to build off his SLIAC Second Team honor. The Windsor, Ill., native, went 9-4 last year totaling 61 strikeouts in 71.0 innings of work.

Camden Coleman and Nolan Gutjhar also return on the bump after combining for 57 strikeouts last year in 28 appearances. Coleman was a reliable arm out of the pen having a 2.76 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched. David Howard, who appeared in 23.1 innings pitched, went 3-0 last year with a 3.09 ERA.

Offensively, the Griffins bright back Trey Kueper, Matt Helm, and Colby Shivers all of whom were named to the SLIAC All-Conference First Team.

Kueper, a Waterloo, Ill., native, was a tough out in 2022 batting a career-high .385, totaling 35 hits, 20 runs scored, seven doubles, two homers, and 18 RBI. Helm, a New Berlin, Ill., native, brought the power in his first season with the Griffins batting .394 with a team-high 11 homers and 52 RBI, to go along with his 50 hits and eight doubles.

Shivers, a Rolla, Mo., native, also had a career-year batting .339 with 43 hits, 36 runs scored, 10 doubles, six homers and 28 RBI.

Thomas Purschke, who was named to the SLIAC Third Team, returns for his senior season after batting .338, while setting new career-highs in hits (51), runs scored (42), doubles (12), and RBI (36).

Ty Kueper also looks to build off his .338 batting line with 26 hits, 22 runs scored, two homers, and 20 RBI.

Glaser, Helm, Kinworthy, Trey Kueper, Purschke, and Shivers were named to the SLIAC Preseason Watch List.

To view the entire SLIAC Preseason Poll visit HERE

To view the 2023 Fontbonne Baseball Schedule visit HERE.

The Griffins get the 2023 season underway on February 14^th in its home opener against University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy. First-pitch at 12 p.m.