Baseball Places Ten On All-GLIAC Team - Jordan Bischel and Tyler Jandron Earn Awards
DETROIT, MICH. – The Northwood University baseball team earned a pair of major Great Lakes Intercollegiate (GLIAC) awards and placed 10 players on the All-GLIAC team, the league announced Wednesday night (May 9).
The GLIAC awards and All-Conference teams were announced at a banquet prior to the start of the conference tournament.
Head coach Jordan Bischel was named the GLIAC Coach of the Year for the second straight year, while senior Tyler Jandron was named the GLIAC Pitcher for the second consecutive season. In addition Jandron joined sophomore outfielder David Vinsky and junior relief pitcher Lennon Gwizdala as First Team All-GLIAC honorees. The Timberwolves had five players earn Second Team All-GLIAC honors: senior designated hitter Javier Martinez, senior catcher Brian Dombrowski, senior first baseman Ryan McClelland, junior shortstop Colin McClelland and senior pitcher Ian Dimitrie. Junior pitcher Jake Gross and junior outfielder Nick Palmer were named to the Honorable Mention team.
Bischel led Northwood it is second consecutive conference championship this year, as the Timberwolves finished the year 34-14 overall, 21-7 in the GLIAC. Those totals are the second-highest in program history, trailing only last year's marks of 46 and 26, respectively. Over his four years as head coach at Northwood, Bischel has won 133 games – 34 more than any other four-year run in school history (99 – 1988-91). He is the only coach in school history to earn GLIAC Coach of the Year honors.
Jandron finished the regular season leading the conference in ERA at 1.93 – the second-best ERA in the league was 3.63. Jandron also ranks in the top three in the conference in wins (eight), complete games (four) and strikeouts (82). Despite being at Northwood for just two years, Jandron is the all-time winningest pitcher in school history, having gone 20-3 with a 2.18 ERA in his time at NU. Jandron is the first player in GLIAC history to win Pitcher of the Year two consecutive years.
Vinsky turned in his second consecutive big season at the plate for the Timberwolves. He ended the regular season batting .406 with six home runs and 45 RBIs. Vinsky currently stands with 80 hits, nine more than any other player in the GLIAC. Over the first two years of his career, Vinsky has 189 hits and 47 doubles as well as a .430 batting average.
Gwizdala has gone 4-2 this season with a school-record and GLIAC-leading 11 saves as the Timberwolves closer this season. He has thrown 40 innings this year and has registered 48 strikeouts. His 11 saves this year is a new school record while his career total of 18 ranks second in NU history.
Martinez finished the regular season batting .315 with five home runs and 49 RBIs, mainly as NU's designated hitter. He currently stands third in the GLIAC in RBIs as well as seventh in doubles (13) and third in walks (30). In two years at Northwood, Martinez has 101 RBIs in 102 games.
Dombrowski had an outstanding senior season for Northwood, ending the year batting .310 with four home runs and 29 RBIs to go with a .500 on-base percentage. His on-base percentage ranks second in the GLIAC, thanks to ranking fourth in the league in walks (28) and first in being hit by pitches (20).
Ryan McClelland finished the year strong, batting .300 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs to go with 53 runs. He shares the league-lead in runs scored and ranks among the league leaders in home runs (seventh), walks (27 – sixth) and being hit by pitches (nine – eighth).
In his first season at Northwood, Colin McClelland stepped into the lineup and became one of the top shortstops in the league. He batted .301 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs. C. McClelland stands as the league-leader in RBIs and stands fourth in the conference in home runs. He also ranks 10th in the GLIAC in total bases (91) and sixth in walks (27).
Dimitrie turned in his second-straight big year for Northwood on the mound, currently standing with a 9-2 record with a 4.24 ERA in 12 starts. Dimitrie currently leads the GLIAC in wins while standing fifth in strikeouts (72), second in innings pitches (74.1) and sixth in ERA. He has 19 career wins for Northwood, good for second in school history and ranking only behind Jandron on the all-time last.
Gross stepped into the rotation and had a strong season for Northwood. He ended the regular season with a 3.95 ERA, which was good for fifth in the league. Gross allowed three runs or less in all but one of his seven starts and went 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA in his final three starts of the year.
Palmer became a starter for the first time in his junior season and has played in all 48 games for NU this season. He finished the regular season batting .271 with six home runs and 34 RBIs. Palmer ended the regular season leading the GLIAC in walks (31) while standing sixth in triples (three) and 10th in home runs.
The top-seeded Timberwolves will open the GLIAC Tournament Thursday morning (May 9) against sixth-seeded Tiffin at 11 a.m. at the Corner Ballpark in Detroit.