Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Baseball	SIUE Baseball SIUE Athletics

Gary Collins

January 15, 2008 Courtesy of GLVC Sports Information SIUE Baseball Picked Second in GLVC West Division         INDIANAPOLIS - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville baseball picked up three first-place votes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference's but did not end up as the league favorite in the West Division.         SIUE's three first-place votes was one behind Southern Indiana and two points overall behind the Screaming Eagles. Southern Indiana and Northern Kentucky were selected as the favorites to win the GLVC West and East Divisions, respectively, in 2008. NKU also received four first-place votes by the coaches in their divisions.         SIUE, under the guidance of Head Coach Gary Collins and Associate Head Coach Tony Stoecklin, turned in the best overall record at 37-17 and the best GLVC record at 26-10 during the 2007 season. SIUE finished third in the GLVC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season.         The Cougars are ranked 24th in the NCAA Division II Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll.         Drury, the defending GLVC Champion, was selected to place third in the GLVC West Division. The Panthers, who received 27 total points, were followed by Rockhurst (19 total points), Quincy (15), Missouri-St. Louis (14) and Missouri S&T (6).         Northern Kentucky garnered 34 total points in the GLVC East Division Poll. Saint Joseph's closely followed with 29 total points and two first-place votes and Indianapolis tallied 26 total points and the remaining first-place vote to place third.         Bellarmine (24 total points), UW-Parkside (14), Kentucky Wesleyan (13) and Lewis (7) rounded out the GLVC East Division Poll.         Southern Indiana, ranked 10th in Collegiate Baseball poll, finished 43-23 in 2007. The Eagles set a school record with the 43 victories and advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series after claiming the school's first North Central Regional crown.         Northern Kentucky just missed earning a berth to the GLVC Tournament a year ago after posting a 22-16 record and tying for sixth-place. The Norse notched an overall record of 27-26 and received votes in the 2008 Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll.         The GLVC will open the 2008 season with two significant changes. The league will be divided into an East and West Division for the first time since 2001 and conference games will be played with aluminum bats for the first time since the 1998 season. The top two teams from each division and two wild cards will earn a berth to the 2008 GLVC Tournament at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, where the GLVC Champion will be crowned.         The complete 2008 GLVC Baseball Preseason Poll follows: Team (First-place votes) Total Points East Northern Kentucky (4) 34 Saint Joseph's (2) 29 Indianapolis (1) 26 Bellarmine 24 UW-Parkside 14 Kentucky Wesleyan 13 Lewis 7 West Southern Indiana (4) 34 SIU Edwardsville (3) 32 Drury 27 Rockhurst 19 Quincy 15 Missouri-St. Louis 14 Missouri S&T 6                 -siue cougars-