For many college athletes, the thought of going pro is always one of their dreams.

Three former Grand Valley State baseball players kept that dream alive as they began their post-college careers by signing pro contracts with teams in the Frontier League.

Outfielder Steve Anderson and pitcher Kyle Schepel both signed with the Rockford RiverCats, while pitcher Cory Baker signed with the Traverse City Beach Bums.

“It means a lot,” Schepel said. “It’s a lot fun playing, but a lot of people just want to keep playing after college. It’s independent ball, but you’re still getting paid to play and it’s still high-level competition. It’s a lot of fun, just trying to keep the dream alive and keep playing.”

Schepel ended his GVSU career as one of the most accomplished pitchers in the school’s history. Along with being the GVSU career leader in wins (31), Schepel is tops in games started (45), innings pitched (268.0), strikeouts (259), strikeouts looking (79) and batters faced (1,181). He finished 2012 with a 9-4 record, 2.75 ERA, three complete games, 92 strikeouts in 78.2 innings pitched and a .199 batting average against. He was named GLIAC Pitcher of the Year and was also named to the All-GLIAC First Team and First Team All-Midwest.

Schelpel believes that the success he was able to have at GVSU can help him down the stretch in his career.

“GVSU had a winning attitude and we played solid competition,” he said. “We expect to win and we know what it takes to win too.”

For outfielder Steve Anderson, he is grateful to have the opportunity to continue playing baseball. His main focus is to enjoy the experience and continue to improve as a player.

“It’s definitely pretty cool,” Anderson said. “It’s not something a lot of people get to experience. I’m just going to take it one day at a time and enjoy it as much as I can because you don’t know how long you will get to do it for. I’m just trying to get better every day and hopefully one day I will move up the ranks a little bit and try to get better.”

Anderson finished his GVSU career as one of the top offensive players in Laker history. He ranks first in career games played (210), RBI’s (187), total bases (396), and hit by pitches (35). Anderson hit .373 this past season with 78 hits, 44 runs, 18 doubles, 5 triples, six home runs, and 57 RBI’s. He was named GLIAC Co-Player of the Year and Daktronics Midwest Region Player of the Year, while being named to All-GLIAC First Team and First Team All-Midwest.

“The time at Grand Valley really made me a better baseball player,” Anderson said. “I learned a lot from coaches and my teammates.”

Pitcher Cory Baker finished the season with a 7-1 record, with a 3.01 ERA in 71.2 innings pitched and recorded 67 strikeouts. Baker got off to a hot start to begin the season, notching 22 straight innings without allowing an earned run. Baker earned All-GLIAC Honorable mention honors.

[email protected]