THREE GRINNELL BASEBALL PLAYERS ON NCAA D-III “PLAYERS TO WATCH” LIST

Grinnell College Baseball Players to Watch 2011

GRINNELL, Iowa – Three Grinnell College baseball players recently landed on the 2011 NCAA Division III National “Players to Watch” list published by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Catcher Mike Nodzenski ’12, pitcher Ben Pope ’12 and outfielder Greg Suryn ’11 were all named to the list of the top players in the country.

Nodzenski is the two-time returning Midwest Conference Player of the Year and was an All-Region performer last spring. A catcher from Naperville, Ill. (Naperville North HS), he led the MWC in RBIs with 53, ranked second in both home runs (11) and runners caught stealing (12), was third in slugging percentage (.758) and eighth in batting average (.403). He was also tops on the Grinnell team in doubles with 11, and already ranks third in school history for career home runs after only two seasons.

The right-handed Pope was the Pioneers’ dominant force on the mound in 2010 en route to being named MWC Pitcher of the Year and All-Region. Pope, who is from Maryville, Tenn. (Alcoa HS), had the fourth-best ERA among all NCAA Division III pitchers at 1.82. He had an 8-1 record to tie the school mark for wins in a season, a victory total that also led the MWC. He ranked fifth in the league with 49 strikeouts and had six complete games.

Suryn, a left fielder from Littleton, Colo. (Front Range Christian), was a MWC All-Conference First-Team selection in 2010. He led the Pioneers in batting average at .433, a mark that ranked fifth in the MWC. He was third in the league in triples with four, ranked fourth in on-base percentage at .527 and owned a spotless 1.000 fielding percentage. He had six doubles and a .650 slugging percentage.