THOMASVILLE, N.C. -- Defending CVAC champion Mount Olive once again is the pick to win the CVAC baseball title, according to a poll of the league's coaches. Mount Olive posted a 37-15 record in 2004, marking the eighth time in the last nine years the Trojans have won either the CVAC regular season or tournament championship. Mount Olive was ranked in the top four in the South Atlantic Region throughout the year and appeared to be headed toward the NCAA DII regional, but the Trojans got bumped out of the top four a week after winning the CVAC Tournament and did not receive a bid. Mount Olive returns a pair of left-handed starting pitchers, including All-CVAC first-team selection Brian Corbett, who posted a 5-1 record with a 4.12 earned run average in 2004. The senior was a two-time CVAC Pitcher of the Week winner. Also returning is junior Weston Curles, who ranked No. 30 in the nation with a 2.36 ERA. Curles posted a complete game victory in last year's CVAC Tournament and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Senior Jonathan Pullen and sophomore Stephen Nordan both hit over .300 last year, while junior first baseman Matt Rickard provided late season offensive punch for the Trojans. Pfeiffer University was chosen in the second spot in the preseason poll. The Falcons are coming off a successful 2004 campaign in which they won the regular season championship. After finishing second in the CVAC tournament, the Falcons had a ranking of No. 2 in the South Atlantic Region. Pfeiffer finished the year with a 41-14 record and a #15 national ranking. First-year Head Coach Mark Hayes will look for hot hitting from returning starters Jamie Tucker (.386, 15 HR, 61 RBI) and Brian York (.398, 18 HR, 70 RBI) who were 2004 first team All-CVAC and All-Region selections. The Falcons will also return six pitchers who saw action last year. They will be led by Greg Tucker (8-4), who was All-CVAC second-team pick, and Spencer Anthony (6-0). The Barton College Bulldogs, who return seven position starters and their entire pitching staff from a 27-26 team that finished fourth in the CVAC regular season in 2004, are third in the poll. Barton head coach Todd Wilkinson begins his 13th season at the helm of the Bulldogs with a lineup that features All-American Dennis Blackmon, who belted a school-record 24 home runs last season and set numerous other school single-season and career records. "We have a veteran, powerful offense," Wilkinson said. "We return 54 of our 73 home runs from last season, as well as our top seven hitters. Our defense was improved in 2004 and our pitching staff is now battle-tested, so we should be even better in 2005." Rounding out the CVAC baseball preseason poll 4-9 are: Erskine, Coker, St. Andrews, Anderson, Limestone, and Belmont Abbey respectively. CVAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll (First place votes in parenthesis) 1. Mount Olive College (5) 61 2. Pfeiffer University (1) 54 3. Barton College (3) 48 4. Erskine College 37 5. Coker College 35 6. St. Andrews Presbyterian College 29 7. Anderson College 26 8. Limestone College 25 9. Belmont Abbey College 9