FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2014
Defending NCAA East Regional champion
Franklin Pierce receives 13 first-place votes
SOUTH EASTON, Mass. – Franklin Pierce University and the University of New Haven topped their respective divisions in the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches' poll, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
A year removed from an NCAA East Regional Championship and College World Series appearance, Franklin Pierce (37-19 overall, 22-6 NE-10, 15-6 Division) received 13 first-place votes on its way to receiving 104 points in the poll. That led the way in the Northeast-10 Northeast Division, ahead of Southern New Hampshire University (35-19, 16-12 NE-10, 13-8 Div.), which received a pair of first-place votes and 93 points.
New Haven (34-16, 20-9 NE-10, 15-6 Div.) received seven first-place votes and 83 points to top the Northeast-10 Southwest Division poll, while Le Moyne College (25-24, 16-11 NE-10, 14-7 Div.) finished second with 76 points and five first-place tallies. Pace University (33-17, 20-9 NE-10, 15-6 Div.) finished third with 69 points and two first-place nods.
Last year's Northeast-10 champion New Haven, So. New Hampshire and Pace all earned selection along with Franklin Pierce to the 2013 NCAA East Regional at the NCAA East Regional last May.
This season, Franklin Pierce came in at No. 9 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national preseason poll, while So. New Hampshire was ranked 27th.
Merrimack College (30-19, 17-12 NE-10, 12-9 Div.), which lost in last spring's Northeast-10 Championship game at New Haven, finished third in the Northeast Division rankings with 71 points, followed by Stonehill College (23-22, 11-16 NE-10, 9-2 Div. ) with 63 points and Bentley University (27-22, 17-12 NE-10, 13-8 Div.) with 60 points.
Saint Anselm College (18-28-1, 13-16 NE-10, 7-14 Div.) finished sixth with 42 points, Assumption College (13-33, 9-20 NE-10, 8-13 Div.) was seventh with 25 points and Saint Michael's College (12-29, 8-21 NE-10, 4-17 Div.) was eighth with 18 points.
With 50 points, Southern Connecticut State University (20-21-1, 10-17 NE-10, 6-15 Div.) placed third in the Southwest Division side of the poll, receiving one first-place vote in the process. Adelphi University (23-25-1, 13-16 NE-10, 11-10 Div.) had 48 points, American International College (21-19, 12-15 NE-10, 9-12 Div.) had 29 points and The College of Saint Rose (10-39, 7-22 NE-10, 6-15 Div.) had 16 points to round out the voting.
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 6,000 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 23 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.
Northeast Division
1. Franklin Pierce (13) – 104
2. Southern New Hampshire (2) – 93
3. Merrimack – 71
4. Stonehill – 63
5. Bentley – 60
6. Saint Anselm – 42
7. Assumption – 25
8. Saint Michael's – 18
Southwest Division
1. New Haven (7) – 83
2. Le Moyne (5) – 76
3. Pace (2) – 69
4. Southern Connecticut (1) – 50
5. Adelphi – 48
6. American International – 29
7. Saint Rose – 16
( ) – indicates number of first-place votes
– #NE10 –
