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(Penn State Harrisburg is from the 5-10 minute mark)
Several changes are in store for the 2015 CAC baseball season. A new coach takes over for long-time Salisbury coach Doug Fleetwood, and Southern Virginia is eligible to qualify for the conference playoffs for the first time.
But some things don't change – like the expectation that defending champion Salisbury will win its fourth-straight title, and 2014 CAC Tournament finalist Christopher Newport will be right there to challenge the Sea Gulls for the crown.
SU (77 points), which won three of four games against CNU in 2014, edged the Captains (76 points) by just one point in the CAC pre-season poll of coaches (who were not allowed to vote for their own team). Each team received five first-place votes.
The top two expected challengers are 2014 defending regular-season champion York (63 points), which won 14 of 16 conference games to enter the championship tournament as the top seed, and perennial CAC playoff qualifier Frostburg State (60 points).
Mary Washington (43 points), Wesley (41 points) and St. Mary's (38 points) will battle for the final two playoff spots, according to the CAC coaches, followed by second-year program Marymount (23 points) and second-year members Penn State Harrisburg (16 points) and Southern Virginia (13 points).
Salisbury enters the 2015 campaign under the guidance of Troy Brohawn, who was the team's pitching coach under Fleetwood from 2006-09 and recently spent five seasons as the head coach of the Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, where he led the Vikings to a state championship in 2013. Another change in coaching status is that of Penn State Harrisburg's third-year mentor Ryan Bown, who was recently promoted from part-time to full-time head coach.
Southern Virginia, in its third season as an NCAA Division III probationary member and second-season as a CAC member, is eligible for the conference playoffs in all sports during the 2014-15 season. That gives the CAC 10 baseball teams battling for six playoff positions.
The double-elimination conference tournament begins with single games at the home fields of the top three seeds on Tuesday, April 15, then continues with second-round action on Thursday, April 17, at the home field of the top seed in the tournament. Weather permitting, a champion will be crowned on Saturday, April 19.
Here is a brief look at each team heading into the 2015 season:
CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT will open the baseball season at home on Monday, February 2 as they host Hampden-Sydney College. Head coach John Harvell, entering his 15th season at the helm, is just five wins shy of 400 for his career, with a winning percentage of nearly 68%. Going into 2015, he'll have the challenge of replacing four All-Region players from last year's squad, including CAC Player of the Year Billy Steel. Top returners include juniors Jacob Houston and Kyle Corwin, along with senior Austin Kilbourne, who missed over half the 2014 season with an injured hand. As the season gets set to begin, a talented group of freshmen and transfers will look to make an impact as the Captains flesh out a rotation that lost three starters and an offense rebuilding with five losses from last season.
Led by a trio of All-CAC picks, FROSTBURG STATE looks to continue its winning ways and find themselves back at the conference tournament in May. The trio, all seniors, put up impressive numbers last year with first team selection Zach Weiss and Second Team selections Ricky Brady and Ricky Castro. Castro (.439), Weiss (.399) and Brady (.385) went 1-2-3 for the Bobcats in batting average and totaled nearly 37 percent of the team's hits with 182, including 39 doubles and 255 total bases.
MARY WASHINGTON will look to bounce back in 2015 with a roster returning several top players from 2014. Leading the way is senior catcher Jono Haught, who gained All-CAC honors in 2013, and juniors James Sink and James Keller, who both hit above .360 a season ago. Thomas Weaver will also head a list of veteran hitters, with newcomers Kyle Bynum and David Slupek looking to contribute immediately.
Heading into just its second season in program history, MARYMOUNT remains quite young. An abundance of sophomore returners punctuate the Saints' lineup, including infield mainstays Karlis Graubics and Ben Berczek. The pair batted .296 and .269, respectively, over their rookie campaigns, with Berczek also having collected two wins and a team-best 45 strikeouts from the mound. The team's primary leadoff man, Graubics led the team with 22 runs scored and six stolen bases over the 2014 season. Classmatae Brandon Orbe returns in 2015 having spent plenty of time both on the mound and in the clean-up spot last year. Orbe led the team with ten doubles and three round-trippers in 2014, as he and Graubics both also registered 15 RBIs – the highest of any returner. Marymount will rely heavily on this veteran sophomore class to help improve on its inaugural 2014 season.
PENN STATE HARRISBURG is coming off a tough first year participating in the CAC. The Lions went 8-29 last season after reaching the NCAA Division III championship tournament in 2013. Despite the setback last season, the Blue & White are much stronger and prepared for their second year participating in CAC play. Harrisburg has a quality group of returning players who are ready for the challenge, including all of their statistical leaders from 2014. Sophomore Eric Hoover is back for another year after leading the team in batting average last season with his .313 average. Bryan Balshy returns after claiming the top RBI spot in 2014 with 24. Defensively Penn State Harrisburg has two of their top pitchers returning to the mound. Senior Will Chaney, who led the team in wins, and Junior Derek Slagle, the teams ERA leader, will both need to be at the top of their game for the Lions. Head Coach Ryan Bown is entering his third season as head coach.
ST. MARY'S returns a core nucleus of experienced players for 2015 who will be surrounded by a young, talented group of newcomers. The Seahawks will be without their All-CAC ace, Sam Beatty, but Michael O'Neill is expected to pick up right where he left off last season. O'Neill posted a 6-3 record and 3.63 ERA in nine appearances in 2014. At the plate, Jared Eaker comes back for his senior year after leading the team in extra-base hits with 14. Brad Dioguardo and Connor Goodie will look to complement Eaker's power in the lineup.
SALISBURY has high expectations coming into the 2015 season with an experienced group of players returning. The Sea Gulls have two key pitchers coming back in seniors Brett Collacchi and Dan Fein. Collacchi led the team with a 12-2 record last season and had a team-high 59 strikeouts, recording 5.61 strikeouts per inning. The 2014 All-CAC First Team honoree also boasted a 2.57 ERA on the year. Fein was another dominating pitcher on the mound for the Sea Gulls, tallying an 8-2 record and striking out 58 batters. He also garnered 5.42 strikeouts a game and also recorded eight putouts and 21 assists in the fielding department. Senior Kyle Hayman is a key returner in the outfield for Salisbury. The 2014 All-CAC First Team honoree was the most successful hitter on the team in 2014, scoring 56 runs off of 80 hits, leading the team in both categories. Returning behind the plate for the Gulls is senior catcher Austin Barefoot. Barefoot was an important part to the Sea Gulls' success in 2014, garnering 192 putouts, the second highest on the team, and recording a .991 fielding percentage. He also had success hitting the ball, scoring 23 runs off of 32 hits and driving in 22 runs on the season.
Coming off a 5-26 season one year ago, SOUTHERN VIRGINIA looks to start afresh and get back to its winning ways as it begins the 2015 baseball season. The Knights have a solid crew of returners this season in CJ Andrus (SS), Hunter Allen (OF) and Jordan Keefer (C/1B) to go along with its returning pitching staff of Colin Bigelow, Chris Madison and Gage Bigelow. Andrus leads all returners, as he was second on the team last year with a .304 batting average and 34 hits to go along with 15 RBI. Allen was third on the team last season with a .280 average while Keefer had 16 hits and earned a team-best 25 walks.
WESLEY returns its top five hitters from a year ago, including All-CAC performer Trevor Mears, along with shortstop Cory Smith and third baseman Eric Speidel, all of whom batted well over .300. With eight of their nine starters coming back the Wolverines know what they have offensively, but they will feature a very young pitching staff led by Eric Willey. In the bullpen, Rob Mills should benefit from an entire year of preparation and head coach Bret Underwood hopes to uncover another diamond in the rough from a large recruiting class on the mound.
The 2014 regular season champion YORK Spartans enter the campaign with high expectations as head coach Mike Scappa welcomes back a solid core of players for 2015. The Spartan pitching staff will be fronted by All-CAC pitcher Dan Gurganus and Rookie of the Year Elliott Mortimer while Scappa welcomes in three freshman who have the ability to make an impact on the staff. The everyday eight will be headlined by All-CAC performer Brad Wenzel as he returns for his senior year. Fellow All-CAC infielder/designated hitter Derek Pitzer will hit in the middle of the Spartan lineup while seniorJ.J. Oleniacz and sophomore Scott Steffy are the Spartans other returning infielders. Senior Stephen Miele and sophomore Logan Countryman are York's two returning outfielders while junior Sean Mohollen will round out the Spartan outfield. Scappa will have to replace All-American catcher Colbe Herr and he will turn to a group of newcomers to handle the load behind the plate.
| 1. | Salisbury (5 first-place votes) | 77 points |
| 2. | Christopher Newport (5 first-place votes) | 76 points |
| 3. | York | 63 points |
| 4. | Frostburg State | 60 points |
| 5. | Mary Washington | 43 points |
| 6. | Wesley | 41 points |
| 7. | St. Mary's | 38 points |
| 8. | Marymount | 23 points |
| 9. | Penn State Harrisburg | 16 points |
| 10. | Southern Virginia | 13 points |
