HobbsDailyReport.com
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Head baseball coaches in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) are picking Lenoir-Rhyne University to finish next-to-last in the league race this season.
In voting this week, those coaches picked Catawba to win the conference (nine first-place votes, 99 points) and Lincoln Memorial (one first-place vote, 90 points) to finish second.
Catawba is the defending SAC champion after going 19-5 in the league and 40-15 overall and reaching the NCAA Division II playoffs.
LRU had 34 points and was voted to finish above only Anderson, S.C.
The Bears open the season Feb. 2 against Barton.
LRU will be led by outfielder Marcus Shoemaker, a senior from Colfax, and outfielder Justin Dean, a junior from Mauldin, S.C.
Shoemaker batted .376 with three home runs and 32 RBIs last season while Dean led the Bears by hitting .393 with three home runs and 19 RBIs.
LRU finished 22-26 last season, going 6-18 in the SAC, as its pitching staff set a school record for strikeouts (457) and ranked fifth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (10.2)
2018 SAC BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
(as voted on by league head coaches)
1. Catawba (9) 99
2. Lincoln Memorial (1) 90
3. Newberry 73
4. Tusculum 72
5t. Carson-Newman 58
5t. Mars Hill 58
7. Wingate 48
8. Coker 40
9. LENOIR-RHYNE 34
10. Anderson 22
PRESEASON ALL-SAC
FIRST TEAM
OF – Luke Setzer, Catawba
OF – Logan Augustine, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Brett Brubaker, Mars Hill
1B – Timmy Wages, Lincoln Memorial
2B – Kyle Smith, Catawba
SS – Tyler Adams, Lincoln Memorial
3B – Brett Langhorne, Carson-Newman
C – Matt Honeycutt, Mars Hill
DH – Ben Herring, Newberry
SP – Hunter Shepherd, Catawba
SP – Zac Brown, Mars Hill
SP – Evan Estridge, Newberry
RP – Griffin Hollifield, Coker
SECOND TEAM
OF – William Thomas, Anderson
OF – Mason Ewers, Lincoln Memorial
OF – Ty Andrus, Wingate
1B – Chance Bowden, Catawba
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
SS – Tyler Miller, Anderson
3B – Christian Stampler, Mars Hill
C – Andrew Llewellyn, Wingate
DH – Bradley Brown, Wingate
SP – Jared Mathewson, Mars Hill
SP – Will Gardner, Carson-Newman
SP – Hunter Hamilton, Wingate
RP – Dominic Morabito, Lincoln Memorial
- Reported by LRU Sports Information