UIC Tabbed To Win Horizon League Baseball Title
Feb. 1, 2006
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Defending champion University of Illinois at Chicago has been installed as the favorite to win the 2006 Horizon League baseball title, according to the results of the preseason coaches' poll announced by the League office on Wednesday (Feb. 1).
UIC was picked by five of the League's six head coaches and topped the poll with 25 points, while 2005 tournament finalist University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was the second choice with 19 points. Regular-season runner-up Youngstown State University claimed the other first-place vote and third place in the poll with a total of 17 points, followed by Wright State University (14 points), Butler University (10) and Cleveland State University (five). Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own squads in the projected standings.
The Flames captured the League's regular-season title for the fourth consecutive year in 2005 and defeated UW-Milwaukee in the final game of the League Championship to advance to the NCAA Championships for the second time in three years. The Flames finished with a 38-21-1 overall ledger which was one victory short of the school's single-season record, with dugout boss Mike Dee winning his fifth League Coach of the Year honor in seven seasons with the program.
UIC led the League in both hitting (.307 team batting average, scoring 7.15 runs per game) and pitching (4.65 staff earned run average) a year ago and returns a trio of veterans who gained First-Team All-League honors in 2005. Junior outfielder Larry Gempp topped the League charts with five triples a year ago, while also finishing thid with eighth home runs and fourth with his .362 batting average. Sophomore first baseman Mark Hallberg was also a First-Team pick for his .354 hitting mark with 42 runs batted in plus 11 stolen bases, while junior right-hander Zach Peterson paced the circuit in both victories (10 in 11 decisions) and ERA (3.31). Senior catcher Bryan Nolte was a Second-Team All-League selection behind the plate, throwing out 18 of 45 potential base stealers while hitting .297 with 36 RBI.
UW-Milwaukee's 26-31 ledger in 2005 included a 12-8 loop standard. The Panthers' 2006 roster includes two of the circuit's top hitters from last year in senior outfielder Joe Nowicki along with senior designated hitter Zak Rivera. Nowicki claimed two-thirds of the League's triple crown, sitting atop the loop charts with a .376 batting average and nine home runs, while his 40 RBI were also among the League leaders. Rivera posted a .364 mark at the plate with seven homers and 33 runs knocked in. Both were First-Team All-League selections in 2005, with senior right-hander Aaron Sorenson attempting to add to his success from last year when the transfer from Lawrence (Wis.) College went 9-3 with a 4.96 ERA to win the League's Newcomer of the Year award plus Second-Team All-League honors.
Youngstown State posted a 29-27 overall mark (10-6 to finish second in the League) and has two returning members of last spring's First-Team All-League unit. Senior third baseman Justin Banks leads the Penguin offense after hitting .356 with three homers and 33 RBI a year ago, with senior catcher/outfielder Brandon Caipen boasting a .301 average to win First-Team honors in 2005. YSU must replace the reigning League Pitcher of the Year in Justin Thomas, who went 7-5 with a 3.42 ERA before being selected by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth round of last June's amateur draft.
Wright State's line-up includes First-Teamer Travis Migliorini at shortstop. Miglioni hit .268 as a junior in 2005 while anchoring the Raider defense which topped the League in fielding percentage at .965. To surpass last year's 26-33 record (including an 11-9 mark in loop action), the Raiders must overcome the loss of four-time All-League honoree Bryan Vickers, who completed his eligibility last spring. He won First-Team All-League accolades in each of the last three seasons after Second-Team laurels in 2002.
Butler is led by a pair of sophomore infielders in second baseman Joe Pauley and first baseman Alex Rinearson. Pauley garnered Second-Team All-League notice for his .336 average and 27 RBI last season, with Rinearson gaining a spot on the League's All-Newcomer team after finishing second in the circuit with his .372 batting average and knocking in 33 runs. Butler finished sixth in the League at 4-12 last season, part of a 19-35 overall ledger.
At Cleveland State, sophomore second baseman Bobby Cash builds on a .310 batting rate which drew similar All-Newcomer honors a year ago despite the Vikings' 14-36 mark which encompassed a 5-15 League mark.
The Horizon League features an expanded 30-game loop schedule in 2006, with each school playing home-and-away series against each of the other five teams. The League's automatic entry into the 2006 NCAA Championship is on the line May 24-28 when Wright State hosts the loop summit at Nischwitz Stadium.
2006 Horizon League Prseason Baseball Poll1. UIC (5 first-place votes) -- 25 points 2. UW-Milwaukee -- 19 points3. Youngstown State (1) -- 17 points4. Wright State -- 14 points5. Butler -- 10 points6. Cleveland State -- 5 points
NOTE: The Head Coaches vote in this poll. Teams received five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, etc. The Head Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own squads.
2005 Horizon League StandingsTeam --League / Overall 1. UIC -- 14-6 / 38-21-12. Youngstown State -- 10-6 / 29-273. UW-Milwaukee -- 12-8 / 26-314. Wright State -- 11-9 / 26-335. Cleveland State -- 5-15 / 14-366. Butler -- 4-12 / 19-35
