SLIAC Pre-Season Baseball Poll Released
St. Louis- The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) has released the 2014 Preseason Coaches Poll. This year the Griffins, receiving 56 points, have been tabbed to finish fourth in conference play.
Last season the Griffins finished 14-10 in the SLIAC and 18-24 overall. Senior shortstop Rob Berger returns after hitting .350 with 24 runs batted in. Berger also generated All-Region honors. Brett Freund and Alex Roedner also return offensively for the Griffins. Freund hit .386 last season while Roedner contributed big on the bat as well averaging .311 with four home runs. Jacob Becker will be leading the Griffins on the mound. Becker struck out 51 last season in 68.2 innings pitched. Fontbonne will be looking for Ben Greenway and Caleb Tatum to make an immediate impact for the team.
Webster University received 81 points as the preseason favorite. Webster has advanced to the College World Series the last two seasons and has won four consecutive SLIAC Championships. The Gorloks (37-12) return eight starters and are currently ranked 8th nationally according to the D3Baseball.com preseason poll.
Spalding University was picked to finish second, coming off a 33-12 season and returning seven starters. Westminster College was picked third in the preseason poll, after finishing second in the regular season last year.
2014 Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll
|
1. Webster |
81 (9) |
|
2. Spalding |
73 (1) |
|
3. Westminster |
59 |
|
4. Fontbonne |
56 |
|
5. Greenville |
50 |
|
6. Blackburn |
45 |
|
7. Iowa Wesleyan |
29 |
|
8. MacMurray |
26 |
|
9. Eureka |
18 |
|
10. Principia |
13 |
