BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -- The Wheeling Jesuit Baseball program has been tabbed to finish 10th in the Mountain East Conference's pre-season coaches poll. Concord has been picked to win the league's inaugural baseball championship.
The Cardinals received 46 points in pre-season voting to land in 10th place, ahead of UVa-Wise and Glenville State.
After snow forced cancellations to the early part of WJU's schedule, the Cardinals will throw the first pitch of the season tonight against Winston-Salem State at BB&T Ballpark, home of the Winston-Salem Dash. First pitch slated for 6:00PM.
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The Concord Mountain Lions collected 138 points finishing just ahead of Shepherd (130) and West Virginia State (124). CU collected six first-place votes and was tabbed as second on the other six. The Rams collected two first-place votes, while the Yellow Jackets had three.
Concord posted a record of 36-20 last year and earned a bid in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Lions will be paced offensively by Ryan Johnston who hit .404 last year with 11 home runs and 66 RBI, along with Joey Miller who batted .342 with 15 home runs and 70 RBI. Ryan Weatherholtz is the top returning starting pitcher after posting a 4-2 record with a 3.77 ERA. CU also received a vote in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 poll.
Shepherd will return eight starters from a team that went 28-20, while West Virginia State will be trying to send out veteran coach Cal Bailey a winner in his final season with the Yellow Jackets.
Charleston was tabbed to finish fourth (89), followed closely by Fairmont State (81), West Liberty (79), West Virginia Wesleyan (69) and Urbana (64). Wheeling Jesuit was picked 10th , and UVa-Wise (29) and Glenville State (15) rounded out the poll.
2014 Mountain East Conference
Preseason Baseball Poll |
|
Rk |
Team |
Pts |
|
1. |
Concord (6) |
138 |
|
2. |
Shepherd (2) |
130 |
|
3. |
West Virginia State (3) |
124 |
|
4. |
Charleston |
89 |
|
5. |
Fairmont State (1) |
81 |
|
6. |
West Liberty |
79 |
|
7. |
Notre Dame |
76 |
|
8. |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
69 |
|
9. |
Urbana |
64 |
|
10. |
Wheeling Jesuit |
46 |
|
11. |
UVa-Wise |
29 |
|
12. |
Glenville State |
15 |
