Saturday, January 26, 2013

Franklin picked to place 2nd in HCAC poll

By Franklin News:

FRANKLIN, Ind. (Jan. 22) – Franklin College was picked to finish second in the race for the 2013 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball regular season championship, the league announced today.

Rival Manchester University received seven of the 10 first-place votes in the annual HCAC Coaches’ 

Preseason Poll and collected 94 points in all. The Grizzlies finished second, claiming one first place vote and 85 total points.
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology finished third in the poll with 76 points and one first place vote and was followed by Anderson University which claimed 75 points and the final first place vote. Hanover College (55 points), Transylvania University (54), Bluffton University (39), Earlham College (30), College of Mount St. Joseph (22), and Defiance College (20) rounded out the poll.

Franklin will be looking for the school’s first baseball title since 2009 this spring. The Grizzlies finished last season 18-7 in league play, finishing a half game behind Rose in the standings, and posted a 31-11 overall mark.

FC went 1-2 in the HCAC tournament last spring, falling to Anderson 5-1 in an elimination game.

Two All-HCAC first-team selections return to lead the Grizzlies lineup this spring. Senior catcher Jesse Wilson (Seymour, Ind./H.S.) returns after leading the Grizzlies at the plate last season.
Wilson hit .380 with 29 runs scored, 10 doubles, two home runs, and 45 RBI. Junior outfielder Scott Windler (Lafayette, Ind./Central Catholic) hit .355 with 40 runs scored, six doubles, three triples, and 31 RBI a year ago.

Senior shortstop Nick Stoia (Camby, Ind./Decatur Central), an All-HCAC Second Team pick in 2012, also returns. Stoia batted .331, collecting team-best totals in both doubles (18) and home runs (four). He was second in the league in stolen bases with 14.

The 2013 baseball season opens on Feb. 22. The HCAC portion of the schedule will begin on March 22 with the HCAC Tournament, which is hosted by the league’s regular season champion, slated for May 9-11.