Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Valparaiso University’s baseball team had three players voted to the 12-member Academic All-Horizon League Team for the 2011 season.  Andrew Bain (Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor H.S.), Jon Gulbransen (Appleton, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran H.S.), and Will Hagel (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect H.S.) each earned the honor for their efforts both on the field and in the classroom.

Bain, a sophomore shortstop, led the Crusaders in hitting with a .343 batting average on the season.  He finished the season with an eight-game hitting streak, which helped post a .565 mark with five runs batted in during the Horizon League Tournament.  A civil engineering major, Bain sports a 3.74 grade point average.

Gulbransen closed his Valpo career with a team-leading six victories on the mound for the Brown and Gold.  The senior hurler posted a 4.03 earned run average and struck out 80 batters on the year, and finished third on the career charts with 264 strikeouts and fourth with 18 victories during his time with the Crusaders.  He is now playing with the Chicago White Sox Rookie League team, the Great Falls Voyagers.  Gulbransen graduated from Valpo with a 3.79 GPA as a management major and he is making his second appearance on the league’s All-Academic Team.

Hagel, a redshirt-junior, led the Crusaders with 46 runs batted in on the season while posting a .328 batting average.  He led Valpo with a .367 mark in Horizon League play.  Valparaiso’s first baseman, Hagel made just two errors defensively all season, recording a .993 fielding percentage.  An international business major, he carries a 3.58 GPA.

To be eligible for Academic All-Horizon League consideration, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher and have completed at least one year at the member institution.  The teams are voted upon by the school’s faculty athletics representatives and sports information directors.