FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2016
Chargers, Ravens Chosen as Preseason Favorites by NE-10 Coaches
MANSFIELD, Mass. – The Franklin Pierce Ravens and New Haven Chargers have been projected to win their respective divisions by the league’s head coaches, as the conference office released the Northeast-10 Preseason Baseball Coaches’ Poll on Tuesday.
Franklin Pierce topped the Northeast Division standings with 104 total points and 13 first-place votes, while New Haven claimed the top spot in the Southwest Division with 77 points and six first-place nods.
For complete results of the coaches’ poll, please see below.
The Ravens are coming off a historic season in which they went 48-4 overall and 24-1 in conference (20-1 NE Division) en route to the program’s fifth Northeast-10 Championship and first since 2009. Under the watch of 2015 NE-10 Coach of the Year Jayson King, the Ravens earned the program’s first-ever No. 1 national ranking by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper last spring.
Franklin Pierce returns a number of key members from last year’s squad, including reigning NE-10 Player of the Year Jay Jabs, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason All-Americans Mike Lundin and Chris LaVorgna, as well as Miles Sheehan, who led the nation in ERA.
New Haven, which hosted the 2015 Northeast-10 Championship Weekend, posted a 17-16 (10-10 NE-10) mark a season ago and finished tied for second in the Southwest Division with a 10-8 division record. The Chargers are slated to return all-conference members Robert Petrillo and Brian Caselli.
In the Northeast Division, Southern New Hampshire was slotted at No. 2 after Franklin Pierce with 93 points and a pair of first-place votes, while 2015 NE-10 Championship runner-up Stonehill came in at No. 3 with 79 points. Making up the rest of the division were Merrimack (4th – 60 pts.), Bentley (5th – 56), Assumption (6th – 36), Saint Anselm (7th – 33) and Saint Michael’s (8th – 15).
Five different teams claimed first-place votes in the Southwest Division. After New Haven, only 13 points separated the Nos. 2-5 teams in the division. Defending division champion Pace was second with 65 total points and three votes for first place, while Adelphi was only three points back in third with 62 points and a first-place nod. Southern Connecticut garnered 58 points and three first-place votes for fourth followed by Le Moyne in fifth with 52 points and two first-place votes. American International (38 pts.) and Saint Rose (19 pts.) rounded out the poll.
Notable 2015 All-Conference First Team members slated to return this season include Adelphi’s Jonathon Mulford, who was also tabbed as an NBCWA Preseason All-American, Franklin Pierce’s Matt O’Herron, Southern New Hampshire’s Carson Helms and Stonehill’s Chris Hoyt.
The 2016 Northeast-10 Baseball Championship is scheduled to begin first round games on Tuesday, May 10. Championship Weekend is set for May 12-14 and will be hosted by the Northeast Division.
2016 Northeast-10 Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Northeast Division
1. Franklin Pierce - 104 (13)
2. Southern New Hampshire - 93 (2)
3. Stonehill - 79
4. Merrimack - 60
5. Bentley - 56
6. Assumption - 36
7. Saint Anselm - 33
8. Saint Michael’s - 15
Southwest Division
1. New Haven - 77 (6)
2. Pace - 65 (3)
3. Adelphi - 62 (1)
4. Southern Connecticut - 58 (3)
5. Le Moyne - 52 (2)
6. American International - 38
7. Saint Rose - 19
(#) – indicates first-place votes
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
