Bischel Named GLIAC Coach Of The Year; Timberwolves Place Seven On All-GLIAC Teams

MIDLAND, MICH. -  The Northwood University baseball team collected three GLIAC post-season awards and placed seven members on the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference teams, which the league announced Wednesday night (May 10).

Head coach Jordan Bischel was named the GLIAC Coach of the Year, while Tyler Jandron was named Pitcher of the Year and freshman outfielder David Vinsky brought home GLIAC Freshman of the Year honors.

Jordan Bischel is the first person in Northwood history to earn GLIAC Baseball Coach of the Year honors. He has led Northwood to a remarkable turnaround in just three seasons at the helm. Northwood finished the regular season with 39 wins overall, nine more than any other season in program history. The Timberwolves' 26 conference victories this year are six more than any other season in school history. Northwood's .813 GLIAC win percentage is the highest for any team in the conference since 2011. With post-season play still upcoming, the team's 39 victories this year are the most for a GLIAC team since 2014.

Northwood junior Tyler Jandron is the first player in program history to earn Pitcher of the Year honors. He finished the year earning the GLIAC pitching "triple crown," leading the conference in wins (10), ERA (2.61) and strikeouts (80). He also tossed a GLIAC-best two shutouts, both of which came in 1-0 conference victories. Jandron already has three more wins and 10 more strikeouts this season than any other pitcher in program history. 

Northwood freshman David Vinsky became one of the top offensive performers in the GLIAC in his first season at Northwood. He finished the regular season with a .444 batting average to go along with a .654 slugging percentage. Vinsky has 91 hits on the year, 12 more than any other player in the GLIAC. His 23 doubles on the season currently lead the GLIAC and rank second in all of Division II. He is the second player in Northwood history to earn GLIAC Freshman of the Year honors, joining Matt Shields (2005).

The post-season accolades continued for the Timberwolves. In addition to being named Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year respectively, Tyler Jandron and David Vinsky were both named first team All-GLIAC honorees. Also earning a first team All-GLIAC selection for Northwood was outfielder Connor Foley.

Connor Foley has played a pivotal role in the best season in Northwood baseball history with a stellar .401 batting average out of both the leadoff spot and the two hole. Foley concluded the regular season second in the GLIAC in runs scored with 60, third in batting average at .401, third in the league in on base percentage at .494 and tied for the second most hits in the GLIAC with 79. 

Furthermore, two Timberwolves collected second team honors. Junior pitcher Ian Dimitrie and senior third-baseman Daniel Pulver claimed Second-Team All-GLIAC selections for compiling tremendous seasons.

Daniel Pulver will go down as one of the all-time greats in Northwood baseball history. The senior has started more games than any other Northwood player and is on pace to finish his career third all-time in RBIs, second in hits, and second in triples. This season, Pulver is hitting .344 and was fourth in the conference with 50 RBIs as well as tied for the most triples in the GLIAC with five.

Ian Dimitrie was a dependable force on the mound for Northwood all season long. Dimitrie finished the regular season second in the GLIAC in earned run average behind teammate Tyler Jandron with an impressive 2.64 ERA in 71.2 innings, the third most innings pitched in the league. The junior from Madison Heights, Michigan, also compiled four complete games, and surrendered just 65 hits in 72.2 innings of work.

Lastly, two Timberwolf newcomers earned All-GLIAC honorable mention for the havoc they created at the plate this season. Javier Martinez and Ryan McClelland both served as forces in the middle of the line-up for Northwood this season.

Martinez boasted a .322 batting average while belting four home runs and totaling 39 RBIs.

Despite battling a lingering hand injury that has limited his play, McClelland still compiled impressive numbers in his first season with the team. The Brighton, Michigan native hit .349 with six long balls and 31 RBIs in 37 games.    

Northwood currently stands at 39-11 overall and finished GLIAC play at 22-6. The Timberwolves are the number one seed in the GLIAC Tournament and open play against sixth seeded Hillsdale on Thursday (May 11) at 10:30 am.