No. 9 Millersville, Seton Hill Top PSAC Baseball Preseason Polls
PSAC Baseball East Division Preseason Notes
PSAC Baseball West Division Preseason Notes
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- Seton Hill and Millersville topped the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Baseball Preseason Poll for their respective divisions, as selected by the league’s coaches, the conference announced Friday morning.
EAST
Millersville claimed four first-place votes after appearing in the PSAC title game in 2018. The Marauders enter the season ranked No. 9 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason Poll.
Millersville has reached the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional in six consecutive seasons and return Pitcher of the Year, Eli Nabholz. Nabholz finished fourth in the league in strikeouts (92) while tying for third with eight wins. As a team, the Marauders led the PSAC with a .286 batting average. Coach Jon Shehan is 13 wins shy of 400 for his career.
West Chester grabbed the four remaining first-place votes and are ranked No. 25 in the NCBWA poll. The Golden Rams will be led by Athlete of the Year Jared Melone. Melone paced all of DII in batting average (.469) while leading the league in RBI (69) and RBI per game (1.44). West Chester returns all but one starter and welcomes three transfers. Coach Jad Prachniak is 15 wins of shy of 250.
Bloomsburg was tabbed third and advanced to the NCAA Regional for the second time in program history. Coach Mike Collins was tabbed Coach of the Year and earned NCBWA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. The Huskies return three all-conference representatives, including senior pitcher Ashton Raines. Raines notched seven wins and 61 strikeouts. Junior Chad Cooperman produced a .318 batting average and 22 RBI.
East Stroudsburg claimed fourth in the poll and will return 13 position players and seven pitchers. The Warriors will be led by first-team all-conference honoree Carson Freeman. Freeman impressed with a .313 batting average and 17 stolen bases. Coach John Kochmansky enters his 12th season at the helm and has accumulated 309 wins.
Lock Haven was tabbed fifth and will return Freshman of the Year Scott Leitholf. The Bald Eagles posted 22 wins under the direction of first-year head coach Heath Stover.
Shippensburg, Kutztown and Mansfield rounded out the poll, respectively.
WEST
Seton Hill garnered five first-place votes and sit atop the West after winning consecutive PSAC titles. Coach Marc Marizzaldi enters his 16th season and has accumulated 530 career wins. The Griffins return Chris Law, who paced the team in hits and triples. Seton Hill led the PSAC in pitching with a 3.36 earned run average.
Mercyhurst claimed the three remaining first-place votes and sit at No. 16 in the NCBWA poll. The Lakers return a pair of second-team all-conference representatives in Russell Lamovec and Tyler Garbee. Mercyhurst led the league in strikeouts with 487 and batting average (.219).
Slippery Rock was tabbed third and returns 19 players from a team that won 30 games last season. Coach Jeff Messer is six wins shy of 1,000 for his career and becoming the 18th DII coach to accomplish the feat. The Rock returns Freshman of the Year Abraham Mow. Mow tied for fourth in the league with 10 home runs while slugging .620.
Gannon garnered the No. 4 position and are coming off a record-breaking year when it tied a program-high in wins with 31. The Golden Knights achieved their highest regional ranking (fifth). Gannon returns redshirt senior Nate Cardy, who hit .406 with 11 doubles and 42 RBI.
California was tabbed fifth for the second consecutive season while IUP, Pitt-Johnstown and Clarion rounded out the poll, respectively.
Millersville and Pitt-Johnstown will be the first teams in action on Friday, Feb. 8. Millersville takes on Lander while Pitt-Johnstown will play a twinbill against West Virginia Wesleyan.
PSAC play starts Friday, March 22 while the tournament will run May 8-11 at Point Stadium in Johnstown, Pa.
EAST (# of first-place votes)
1) Millersville (4)
2) West Chester (4)
3) Bloomsburg
4) East Stroudsburg
5) Lock Haven
6) Shippensburg
7) Kutztown
8) Mansfield
WEST
1) Seton Hill (5)
2) Mercyhurst (3)
3) Slippery Rock
4) Gannon
5) California
6) IUP
7) Pitt-Johnstown
8) Clarion