Posted: Feb 21, 2019
Baseball selected 7th in MASCAC preseason poll
Westfield, Mass. — The 2018 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament Champion, Westfield State, was picked by the league's head coaches to repeat in 2019 in the MASCAC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Owls earned six of a possible eight first place votes in the poll, to secure 47 points. Westfield went 10-4 in conference play last year and earned the No. 1 seed the championship tournament. A big part of the Owls' success was reigning MASCAC Player of the Year Anthony Crowley, who returns for his senior season. Crowley was in the top three in the conference in almost every offensive category. He led the league in runs (43), hits (57), home runs (12), RBI (55), total bases (115), and slugging percentage (.752).
Salem State lands in the No. 2 spot in the poll with 38 points and a first place vote. The Vikings went 8-6 last season and were the No 4 seed in the MASCAC Tournament. Returning for the Vikings is outfielder Kyle O'Connor, who led the team in slugging last year with a .514 slugging percentage. The junior batted .338 last season with 32 runs scored and 29 RBI. He also led the league in triples with seven.
The 2018 MASCAC Tournament runner-up Framingham State and Co-Regular-Season Champion Massachusetts Maritime both earned 32 points in the poll to tie for third. All-Conference outfielder Aaron Williams is back for the Rams. He was second in the conference in batting average last year, hitting .378. He was also third in hits (56) and fifth in runs scored (32). The Buccaneers retain the services of 2018 MASCAC Rookie of the Year John Teehan. The sophomore right-hander went 4-3 last year with three saves. He pitched four complete games including one shutout and averaged 10.07 strikeouts per game. His 2.40 ERA was good for third in the conference.
Fitchburg State occupies the fifth spot in this year's preseason poll after a 6-7-1 conference season last year. The Falcons earned 26 points in the voting. All-Conference Second Teamer Ryan Towle will be back for Fitchburg after going 5-2 last year with a league-best 1.53 ERA. He threw two complete games and earned two shutouts, while averaging 10.22 strikeouts per game.
Worcester State claimed 21 points and a first place vote in the polling. The Lancers went 6-8 in 2018, thanks in part to first baseman Ben Palatino. Palatino was fifth in the league in batting average (.356) and second in the league in stolen bases (16). He also scored 31 runs and drove in 17.
Rounding out the preseason poll is MCLA and Bridgewater State, which earned 19 and 9 points, respectively. Logan Rumbolt and his .376 batting average is back for the Trailblazers, while Sean Casey, who batted .344 with 12 RBI is back for the Bears.
The MASCAC baseball schedule gets underway on Saturday, February 23 with a non-conference play throughout the week.