Wright State Tabbed 2015 Favorite; Enslen, Lundeen Earn Preseason Accolades

INDIANAPOLIS -- Wright State is the favorite to win the 2014 Horizon League Baseball Championship in balloting by the conference’s six head coaches. The Raiders, who captured last season’s regular season title, received five of six first place votes. UIC was runner-up in the poll for the second consecutive year, while Milwaukee placed third, collecting the final first-place vote.

Oakland senior outfielder Rob Enslen was chosen the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, with Valparaiso junior Dalton Lundeen was picked  as the League Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

Valparaiso, 2012 and 2013 Horizon League champions, was picked to finish fourth. Youngstown State, the defending League Tournament champions was fifth, while Oakland rounded out the poll.

Wright State returns five of eight position players from its 2014 League regular-season champions, with four of those players earning preseason all-league honors. Outfielders Andrew McCafferty (.274 BA, 3 HR, 33 RBI, .755 OPS) and Brad Macciocchi (.288 BA, 0 HR, 23 RBI, .722 OPS) joined catcher Sean Murphy (.301 BA, 4 HR, 35 RBI, .812 OPS), a 2014 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, and second baseman Michael Timm (.325 BA, 3 HR, 38 RBI, .899 OPS) on the team.

Raiders reliever Andrew Elliott was also chosen among the preseason all-league pitchers. In 27 appearances in 2014, Elliott recorded 13 saves, striking out 61 over 41.2 innings and posting a 0.65 ERA.

Jeff Boehm (.302 BA, 7 HR, 30 RBI, .951 OPS), the leading returning slugger in the Horizon League, joined Mickey McDonald (.297 BA, 2 HR, 24 RBI) as the Flames’ all-league selections. Boehm’s seven home runs were tied for the League lead in 2014. UIC will also look to 2014 first team all-league selection Tyler Detmer (.330 BA, 5 HR, 39 RBI, .906 OPS) to make the transition from outfield to catcher.

Milwaukee collected the remaining first-place vote among the coaches’ poll and put three players onto the preseason team. Outfielder Sam Koenig, who received a medical hardship in 2014, returns to a Panther lineup after hitting .286 on the season with two homers and 24 RBI. Tyler Hermann (.280 BA, 3 HR, 17 RBI) and Tell Taylor (.211 BA, 1 HR, 9 RBI) were chosen as the preseason all-league third baseman and utility player, respectively.

Valparaiso will add five transfers to its projected starting lineup, but returns its Friday starter in Dalton Lundeen. As a sophomore, Lundeen earned co-Pitcher of the Year honors, going 5-6 with a league-best 1.94 ERA for the Crusaders. The left-hander posted a 1.02 WHIP, ranking in the top five among Horizon League pitchers in ERA, innings, opponents’ batting average and strikeouts.

In 2014, Youngstown State posted the Horizon League’s second consecutive win during the NCAA Tournament, collecting a victory over Indiana State in the elimination round. Picked fifth in the preseason poll, the Penguins will look to designated hitter Jason Shirley (.271 BA, 0 HR, 14 RBI) and reliever Kevin Yarabinec (20 APP, 2-2, 2.22 ERA, 24.1 IP, 25 K) at the plate and on the mound.

Oakland boasts the preseason player of the year in Enslen. In his junior season, Enslen led the League with a .378 batting average and placed in the top five in slugging (.522), on-base percentage (.440), hits (68), runs batted in (38) and total bases (94). Enslen capped 2014 by being named to the All-Mideast Region second team. The senior is joined on the preseason all-league team by shortstop Mike Brosseau (.321 BA, 2 HR, 27 RBI, .815 OPS), who returns after earning first team all-Horizon League accolades in his sophomore year.

All six League teams open the 2015 season on Friday, and Horizon League play begins Friday, March 13, with three series beginning that evening.

The 2015 Horizon League Baseball Championship is slated for May 20-23 at Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind. The event will be hosted by Valparaiso and will feature single-elimination games on the first day, with the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds earning a bye to the double-elimination portion of the tournament beginning on May 21. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

2015 BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
1. Wright State -- 35 points (5 first-place votes)
2. UIC -- 28
3. Milwaukee -- 23 (1)
4. Valparaiso -- 19
5. Youngstown State -- 12
6. Oakland -- 9

Preseason Player of the Year: Rob Enslen, Oakland
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Dalton Lundeen, Valparaiso

Preseason All-League Team:
C – Sean Murphy, Wright State
1B – Jeff Boehm, UIC
2B – Michael Timm, Wright State
SS – Mike Brosseau, Oakland
3B – Tyler Hermann, Milwaukee;
         Mickey McDonald, UIC
OF – Rob Enslen, Oakland
OF – Sam Koenig, Milwaukee
OF – Andrew McCafferty, Wright State
OF – Brad Macciocchi, Wright State
DH – Jason Shirley, Youngstown State
UTIL – Tell Taylor, Milwaukee
P – Dalton Lundeen, Valparaiso
P – Andrew Elliott, Wright State
P – Kevin Yarabinec, Youngstown State