Baseball | 2/6/2017 10:36:00 AM

Mercyhurst starting pitcher Matthew Minnick was named 2017 Pitcher of the Year and the Lakers ranked seventh in the 2017 version of the Baseball America Preseason Division II Poll released on Feb. 3.
 
The left-hander Minnick posted a 7-1 record and a 3.48 earned-run average for the Lakers in 10 starts in 2016 while throwing a total of 54.1 innings and 61 strikeouts.
 
Baseball America named Minnick the fourth-highest major league draft prospect in Division II. Minnick also received 2017 preseason honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) as a first-team selection in the Atlantic Region.
 
Baseball America named Minnick the fourth-highest major league draft prospect in Division II.
 
The Lakers received highest preseason ranking to date from baseball America at seventh. They ranked as high as ninth in the 2017 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Coaches Poll released back in December.
 
The Lakers begin the season with a doubleheader against West Virginia State on Feb. 18.