2015 All-GLIAC Baseball Release
Hillsdale College junior Luke Ortel ended the 2015 season on an absolute tear. On Wednesday night, he was rewarded by beig recognized as one of the best players in the entire conference.
Ortel was named First-Team All-GLIAC in a vote conducted by conference coaches. The 2015 all-conference baseball teams were unveiled in Dayton, Ohio, the site of this year's conference tournament.
Junior Chris McDonald was named Second-Team All-GLIAC while seniors Vinny Delicata and Dan Pochmara each earned honorable mention All-GLIAC distinction.
Ortel hit home runs in each of the last three games of the regular season, displaying power to go along with his outstanding all-around game. He just finished his third season as the team's leadoff hitter and starting center fielder, and finished the 2015 season with a .358 batting average, 5 home runs, 25 RBI, 13 stolen bases, 9 doubles and 44 total hits. His average never dipped below .300 from April 11 onward, and he had hits in 12 of the team's final 13 games.
Ortel is also an outstanding defensive player, finishing this season with a .975 fielding percentage while making a number of diving catches in the outfield, undoubtedly saving the team a number of runs on defense.
McDonald emerged as a true heart-of-the-order threat this season for the Chargers, leading the team in runs scored (32), total hits (53), RBI (33), doubles (12), and tied Ortel for the home run led on the team with 5.
McDonald was named the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week last month after having back-to-back 4 RBI games against Ohio Dominican. He had a .327 batting average and was one of the team's most versatile and valuable players, starting all 49 games along with eight appearances at pitcher.
Delicata batted a career-high .319 this season for Hillsdale while Pochmara finished the season with 6 saves, conlcuding his career with a school-record 22.