FROM CONFERENCE RELEASE
South Easton, Mass. – The Northeast-10 reigning regular season and tournament champions were selected to finish first again as voted upon by the conference’s 13 coaches.
Franklin Pierce University, picked to finish second nationally in Division II by Baseball America, finished 26-4 in the Northeast-10 last year claiming its second straight regular season championship and second tournament championship in three years. The Ravens received all 13 first-place votes for a total of 169 points.
Bryant University (21-9, NE-10), picked to finish second in the Northeast-10, received 153 points in the poll followed by the University of Massachusetts Lowell (25-5, NE-10) with 136 points. Pace University (18-12, NE-10) received 129 points for a fourth place finish, while Southern Connecticut (15-15, NE-10) followed closely as the Owls are predicted to finish fifth (123).
The Skyhawks of Stonehill College (13-17, NE-10) received 90 points and are predicted to finish sixth, followed by Bentley College (17-13, NE-10) at seventh (80) and Merrimack College (12-18, NE-10) at eighth with 66 points. Assumption College (10-20, NE-10) received 62 points and the College of Saint Rose (13-17) tallied 49 points to finish ninth and tenth respectively.
Southern New Hampshire University (12-18, NE-10), Saint Anselm College (8-22, NE-10) and American International College (5-25, NE-10) round out the poll.
In the recently released National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America’s Division II Northeast Regional Preseason Poll, four Northeast-10 schools are ranked. Leading the quartet is #1 Franklin Pierce, followed by #3 Bryant, #4 UMass Lowell and #8 Pace.
The 2008 season kicks into full gear this weekend as teams begin heading south to partake in their annual spring trips. Saint Rose recently finished a five-game span down in the Carolinas, as Bentley, Bryant and Southern Connecticut gear up to head to Florida on Saturday. Northeast-10 Conference play is set to start with a full slate of games on Saturday, March 15. The NE-10 tournament will begin on Wednesday, May 7 and will conclude with the championship game on Sunday, May 11.
Sponsoring 23 championship sports and 15 full-time members, the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation and sponsors the most championships of any Division II conference.
2008 Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Team Points 2008 Record
1. Franklin Pierce (13) 169 49-11
2. Bryant 153 35-24
3. UMass Lowell 136 33-20
4. Pace 129 30-26
5. Southern Connecticut 123 19-30
6. Stonehill 90 21-24
7. Bentley 80 22-29
8. Merrimack 66 16-26
9. Assumption 62 18-26
10. Saint Rose 49 16-29
11. Southern New Hampshire 47 13-19
12. Saint Anselm 45 9-29
13. American International 34 9-31
(First place votes in parentheses.)
