Baseball Ranked No. 10 Nationally in NCBWA Preseason Poll

Ravens also ranked first in NCBWA East Region Preseason Poll

NCBWA Preseason National/Regional Polls

RINDGE, N.H. (February 2, 2010) – The Franklin Pierce University baseball team is ranked No. 10 nationally in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason Poll, as announced Tuesday by the NCBWA. In addition, Franklin Pierce is ranked first in the NCBWA East Region Preseason Poll.

Franklin Pierce (37-18 in 2009) collected 243 points in the 25-team preseason poll and shares the 10th position with Angelo State (45-20). The Ravens will open the season inside the Top 10 after finishing last season tied for 28th and in the “Also Receiving Votes” of the final NCBWA Poll. The baseball writers will rank the top 25 Division II squads in the nation each week during the season.

Northeast-10 Conference newcomer Adelphi (34-16) joins Franklin Pierce in the poll, as the Panthers collected 57 points to occupy the No. 23 slot. Fellow East Region member Dowling (35-18) picked up 45 points to round out the poll at No. 25, while Dominican (38-14) tallied five points to place in the “Also Receiving Votes” section of the poll.

The national runner-up a year ago, Emporia State (49-14) chalked up 404 points to take home the top spot in the NCBWA Preseason Poll. Southern Arkansas (41-16) was just 12 points behind and took the No. 2 spot, while California, San Diego (41-15) opens the season in third after an appearance in the national semifinal last season. Nine-time national champion Florida Southern (41-16) placed fourth and Grand Valley State (45-16) rounded out the preseason top-five. Lynn (46-16), the defending national champion, was ranked ninth.

Franklin Pierce will open the season as the top-ranked team in the East Region, as the Ravens collected 68 points and five of seven first-place votes in the NCBWA East Region Preseason Poll. The Ravens chalked up a 13-point advantage over Adelphi and Dowling, which each picked up one of the two remaining first-place votes. Behind Franklin Pierce and Adelphi, four other Northeast-10 Conference schools made an appearance in the East Region Preseason Poll. Assumption (33-21) placed fifth, Southern Connecticut State (25-20) took seventh, Massachusetts Lowell (25-20) landed ninth and Bentley (28-22) occupied the 10th position.

Last spring, Franklin Pierce captured its third Northeast-10 Conference regular season title in four years and followed that with its third consecutive Northeast-10 Championship title, which was the program’s fourth in five years. Franklin Pierce earned the second seed in the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship East Regional and hosted an NCAA regional for the fifth consecutive season.

The Ravens open the 2010 season on Saturday, Feb. 21, when they travel to Dowling for a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Golden Lions Field in Shirley, N.Y. Franklin Pierce is slated to play its first home game on Thursday, March 25 against Saint Anselm at 3:30 p.m. at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field in Rindge.