Hounds Selected to Repeat as Landmark Conference Champions
TOWSON, Md. --- The Moravian College baseball team has been selected to repeat as the Landmark Conference champions this spring in the 2014 Preseason Poll conducted among the conference’s head coaches with the Greyhounds picking up five first-place votes and a total of 55 points.
TOWSON, Md. --- The Moravian College baseball team has been selected to repeat as the Landmark Conference champions this spring in the 2014 Preseason Poll conducted among the conference's head coaches with the Greyhounds picking up five first-place votes and a total of 55 points.
Eighth-year Head Coach Paul Engelhardt returns 30 players and 13 starters including the entire starting pitching rotation and closer from last year's 24-19 squad. Moravian won its second Landmark title in four years in May and played in the NCAA Division III Regional for the second time in school history.
"It is a very nice honor for our kids and program to be picked first in the poll," Engelhardt said. "Each year is a different team, with new goals and a different path to get there. As a team, the kids feel that they have a chance to repeat as Landmark Champions, and to expect nothing but the best from every team we play.
"By being voted #1, it means that the other teams in conference are shooting for us," continued Engelhardt. "We have to accept that, and be prepared to play our best baseball on the weekends. The Landmark is stronger than ever, and I expect the conference to continue to grow as it did the past few years. The preseason poll is exactly that...preseason. It is up to us to meet the challenge. I have no doubt our kids will work for that, and have absolutely no doubt the conference will work to see that it doesn't happen. It is an exciting time to be a Moravian baseball player."
Last year's regular season champion, The Catholic University of America received one first-place vote and is second in the poll with 41 points while The United States Merchant Marine Academy earned the final first-place vote and was third with 34 points.
The Greyhounds are the first Landmark Conference team to see action as Moravian is slated to kick off its 2014 campaign on Friday, February 21 at the 7th Annual Floyd B. Wilcox Memorial Tournament hosted by Hampden-Sydney (Va.) College. The Greyhounds open the tournament with a game versus Wesley (Del.) College at 11:00 a.m. and will finish the weekend trip with games versus host Hampden-Sydney on Saturday and nationally-ranked No. 17 Keystone College on Sunday, both starting at 11:00 a.m.
Moravian is scheduled to begin its Landmark Conference slate on Saturday, March 15 when Drew University heads to Bethlehem for the doubleheader of a three-game conference series starting at 1:00 p.m.
2014 Landmark Conference Baseball Preseason Poll
|
Rank |
Institution (First Place) |
Points |
|
1. |
Moravian College (5) |
55 |
|
2. |
The Catholic University of America (1) |
41 |
|
3. |
The United States Merchant Marine Academy (1) |
34 |
|
4. |
Susquehanna University |
29 |
|
5. |
The University of Scranton |
26 |
|
6. |
Drew University |
20 |
|
7. |
Juniata College |
12 |
