Bellarmine baseball picked to finish third in GLVC

The Great Lakes Valley Conference coaches have predicted the Bellarmine University baseball team to finish third in the East Division in the annual preseason poll, the league announced Wednesday.

Bellarmine received 90 points and one first-place vote. Indianapolis, the reigning GLVC Tournament champion and DII NCAA Tournament participant, is the favorite to win the East after garnering 114 points and 10 top votes. Southern Indiana (108 points, five first-place votes), which earned a berth in the 2016 College World Series after capturing the NCAA Midwest Regional, is the defending division champion and is picked to finish second behind the Greyhounds.

Saint Joseph’s (70) is next after Bellarmine in fourth followed by Lewis (66), Illinois Springfield (60), McKendree (31) and Wisconsin-Parkside (29). The Knights went 25-26 overall last season and earned a berth in the GLVC Tournament after going 15-11 in league play, good for third in the East.

Quincy, which earned the top seed in last year’s NCAA Midwest Regional, is predicted to win the GLVC West after earning 13 of a possible 15 first-place votes and 116 points. Rockhurst (85, two top votes), the GLVC Tournament runner-up, is picked to finish second while Missouri S&T and William Jewell tied in third with 74 points each. Missouri S&T earned a bid last season to the NCAA Tournament.

Drury (70) is next in fifth followed by Missouri-St. Louis (61), Truman State (57) and Maryville (31).

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