TOWSON, Md. --- The Moravian College baseball team has been picked to finish second in the Landmark Conference this spring in the 2015 Preseason Poll conducted among the conference's head coaches with the Greyhounds picking up a pair of first-place votes and a total of 60 points.
Susquehanna University, last year's conference champion, was selected first in the poll with six first-place votes and 68 points while The Catholic University of America is third behind the Greyhounds with 34 points, just two ahead of conference newcomer Elizabethtown College.
Ninth-year Moravian Head Coach Paul Engelhardt returns 22 players and 11 starters including three starting pitchers from last year's 32-12 squad. Moravian, nationally-ranked for the first time in school history and won four games against other nationally-ranked opponents, earned its three trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament in the last five years as the Hounds were the top seed in the regional hosted by Misericordia University at PNC Field in Moosic.
The Greyhounds are the second Landmark Conference team to see action as Moravian is slated to kick off its 2015 campaign on Saturday, February 21 at the 8th Annual Floyd B. Wilcox Memorial Tournament hosted by Hampden-Sydney (Va.) College. The Greyhounds open the tournament host Hampden-Sydney at 11:00 a.m. and will play Guilford (N.C.) College on Sunday, February 22 also at 11:00 a.m.
Moravian is scheduled to begin its Landmark Conference slate on Saturday, March 14 when the Hounds head to Washington, D.C. and Catholic for the doubleheader of a three-game conference series starting at 1:00 p.m.
2015 Landmark Conference Baseball Preseason Poll
|
Rank |
Institution (First Place) |
Points |
|
1. |
Susquehanna University (6) |
68 |
|
2. |
Moravian College (2) |
60 |
|
3. |
The Catholic University of America |
34 |
|
4. |
Elizabethtown College |
32 |
|
5. |
Drew University |
26 |
|
6. |
The University of Scranton |
23 |
|
7. |
The United States Merchant Marine Academy |
22 |
|
8. |
Juniata College |
7 |