GLVC coaches tab QU baseball team to finish second in league’s preseason poll

QUINCY — The Great Lakes Valley Conference baseball coaches are following the lead of their national counterparts.

Illinois-Springfield is the team to beat this spring.

Quincy University isn’t far behind.

The Prairie Stars, who are the defending GLVC champions and coming off an NCAA Division II World Series appearance, were selected as the No. 1 team in the GLVC’s preseason poll of its coaches. UIS received 142 points and 10 first-place votes.

The Hawks, who lost to the Prairie Stars in three games in the best-of-three Midwest Super Regional last spring, were picked to finish second in the league. Quincy received 130 points and two first-place votes. Drury and Maryville finished the top four.

Illinois-Springfield is ranked ninth in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II preseason top 25 and the No. 1 team in the Midwest Region preseason poll. Quincy is No. 20 in the national poll and No. 2 in the Midwest.

The Hawks are scheduled to open their season Feb. 10 at the University of Tampa, which is ranked third in the preseason national poll.

Quincy returns first-team All-GLVC selections Spencer Walker, a senior right-handed starter who went 10-1 last season, and Luke Napleton, a junior catcher who led the Hawks with 20 home runs last spring. Second-team All-GLVC right-hander Jay Hammel, who went 9-2, also returns.

The Hawks also return first baseman Lance Logsdon, the Canton, Mo., product who already holds the QU career records for home runs and runs batted in, and third baseman Nolan Wosman, the Palmyra, Mo., product who hit .329 with 14 home runs last spring.