Brink Signs With The Lynx

Ryan Brink signs to play for Lindenwood Belleville. Ryan is joined by his parents Mike and Melanie Brink, as well as Lindenwood-Belleville coach Logan Johnson, and Hornets baseball coach Chad Malawy.

By Brent Huelsmann

After playing on the infield and pitching for the Nashville Hornets, Nashville senior Ryan Brink will swing for the fences as a member of the Lindenwood-Belleville baseball team. Brink is coming off an incredible junior season for the Hornets as he played shortstop and pitched. Brink was one of the more consistent pitchers for Nashville as he went 7-2 with a 1.45 ERA on the mound, while batting .308 with two home runs and 24 RBIs last season. The Hornets finished with a 27-6 record

On the mound, Brink led the team with 62.2 innings pitched last season, was second on the team with seven wins. Brink was third on the team with 64 strikeouts last season, and was third on the team in ERA among players who pitched in at least ten games. At the plate, Brink was fourth on the team with 32 hits on the season, and tied for the team lead with two triples. Brink was tied for second on the team with two home runs.

Brink will continue his career on the diamond as a member of the Lindenwood-Belleville Lynx. Brink said of the decision, “I went on my visit a few weeks ago, and I really liked the campus, met a few of the players, they are all real nice. Obviously playing at Grizzlie Stadium is a big plus for anybody. I really really liked the coaching staff and that was a big part of my decision.”

When asked about what Brink brings to the program, Lindenwood-Belleville caoch Logan Johnson said, “I think Ryan is a kid that brings in good depth at all three infield positions. A guy with his size can play the corner infield, obviously the long term plan is for him to play in the middle of the field and be a force in the middle of the order, but right now he can come in and be versatile and do those things at third, short, second, and could end up in the outfield because he is so athletic.” Johnson went on to say, “we're excited to have him and I think physically he's ready to play the game now at the college level.”

Nashville Hornets coach Chad Malawy talked about the player that Lindenwood-Belleville is getting. “Ryan loves the game of baseball and he works as hard as any baseball player we've had in our program. I'm really excited to see him go on and play and I think he'll do good things for them.”

Brink is looking forward to this season on the diamond and says he will miss a lot of things from Nashville. “ I'll miss coach Malawy, I've made a lot of great friends here and we've had some really successful teams here. I hope this year we can make a good postsesason run, I really like our field and all the coaches. I'll really miss it.”

The Lynx have a fairly new baseball program, as they played their first season in 2012. Johnson is the only coach in school history. The Lynx play their home games at GCS Ballpark. The Lynx finished with a 16-40 record in 2016, and they play in the American Midwest Conference.