Mercyhurst College senior outfielder Joe Luli received one of 12 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Commissioner’s Awards for the spring athletic season. The award is presented to six male and six female athletes during each of the three athletic seasons in recognition of excellence on the field of play and in the classroom.
“Our conference, along with Meijer Incorporated, feels that it is important to recognize these hard-working student-athletes for their outstanding performances,” GLIAC Commissioner Tom Brown said.
Luli was joined by Findlay’s Eric Atsma, Wayne State’s Matthew Cunningham and Brett Witczak, Grand Valley State’s Derek Hinke, and Hillsdale’s Timothy Sayers among male recipients during the spring. The female winners were Findlay’s Pamela Bullock, Grand Valley State’s Stephanie Cole, Ferris State’s Becky Hoffman and Katie Kraai, Michigan Tech’s Andrea Metz, and Wayne State’s Lindsey Perry.
A business major, Luli batted a career-high .364 in 2008 and led the Lakers with five home runs and 31 runs batted in despite being limited to 37 games due to injury. He was named second team All-GLIAC during the past year and finished his career ranked sixth in school history with 120 RBI and seventh in homers with 14. After missing 15 games in the middle of the season, he returned to bat .439 over the final 19 games with four homers and 23 RBI, slugging .719 and posting at least one hit in 18 of those games. He completed his career as a three-time All-GLIAC selection (one first team award and two second team awards) and was a Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-America selection in 2007.
Luli is the second Mercyhurst athlete to receive on the of the GLIAC Commissioner’s Awards during the season. Women’s soccer goalkeeper Rebecca Heintzman was named to the list for her accomplishments during the fall.