The Hope College baseball team appears in the Collegiate Baseball’s 2020 NCAA Division III Preseason Poll.
The Flying Dutchmen, led by head coach Stu Fritz, topped the list of teams also receiving
votes in the poll that finished outside the top 40 who were ranked.
Hope is coming off a record-breaking 2019 season where the Flying Dutchmen set a school
record for victories in a single season with a 31-11 overall record.
Hope also finished runner-up in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
regular-season standings and postseason tournament.
The Flying Dutchmen are slated to return All-Region and All-MIAA outfielder Mason
Opple of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville), All-MIAA center fielder Evan Maday of
Grand Rapids, Michigan (East Kentwood) and All-MIAA catcher Trace Slancik of Scotts,
Michigan (Vicksburg).
Opple is on the verge of breaking Hope’s career RBI record.
Hope is scheduled to open the 2020 season on Saturday, February 29 with single games
against Wabash College (Indiana) and Wittenberg University (Ohio) in Westfield, Indiana.