ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the second consecutive year, the Anderson University baseball team has been tabbed to finish eighth in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon.
Catawba has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the SAC Regular Season Championship for the eighth consecutive season, after receiving eight first place votes and 128 total points from the conference's head baseball coaches. Catawba finished in a tie for third in the regular season a year ago, alongside Tusculum with a 17-7 mark in conference play, but went on to capture its eighth SAC Tournament Championship and first since sharing the title with Tusculum in 2016.
The Indians won the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament with a 4-3 win over North Greenville and finished the 2019 campaign with an overall 47-14 mark after advancing to the NCAA Division II Baseball National Championship Finals.
Newberry, the defending SAC regular-season champions, claimed four first-place votes and finished second in the preseason poll with 124 points. The Wolves earned a berth in last year's NCAA Tournament and wrapped up the campaign with a 41-16 record, including a stellar 21-3 league record. Lincoln Memorial, which also garnered a bid to the NCAA Tournament after finishing as runners-up in the regular season, wrapped up last season with a 34-19 record. The Railsplitters claimed the No. 3 spot in the coaches' preseason poll.
Wingate placed fourth in the poll with 98 points, followed by Tusculum at No. 5 with 95 points. The Pioneers finished in a tie with Catawba for third place last season with a 30-21 overall record, including a 17-7 mark in the SAC.
Carson-Newman was at No. 6 with 84 points and Lenoir-Rhyne earned the No. 7 slot with 72 points, while Anderson earned 58 points in eighth and Coker placed ninth with 47 points. Rounding out the preseason poll were Queens at No. 10 with 44 points, Mars Hill at No. 11 with 37 points, and UVa-Wise at No. 12 with 26 points.
In addition to the preseason coaches' poll, the SAC announced its 2020 Preseason All-Conference teams. Newberry's Tomas Sorcia Jr. and Josh Bookbinder along with Catawba's Brian Ketchie were named first team starting pitchers. Newberry's Quinton Driggers was named the first team reliever and Lincoln Memorial's Nate Stinson was named to the first team as the designated hitter.
UVa-Wise backstop Tyler Blaum earned first team honors at catcher and Catawba's Hunter Shepherd was named first team first baseman. Daulton Martin of Tusculum was named first team at second base, with Lincoln Memorial's Tyler Adams earning first team honors at third base and Catawba's Jeremy Simpson was named the first team shortstop.
Rounding out the first team selections are Carson-Newman's Jordan Griffin and Tyler Thompson, along with Wingate's Jed Bryant in the outfield.
First-year Trojan head coach PJ Zocchi's squad has been selected eighth in the poll and will look to surpass the preseason expectations, as well as last year's seventh-place finish in the league. Zocchi, who took the reins of the program after longtime coach Joe Miller resigned last June, will look to a seasoned core of veterans, along with a bevy of talented newcomers to lead this year's squad to its fifth postseason appearance.
Senior hurler Christian Carpenter earned Honorable Mention All-Conference recognition at the end of last season after leading the league and ranking fourth nationally with a school-record 13 saves. He was named SAC Pitcher of the Week twice and owned a stellar 2.53 ERA, while holding opponents to a .239 batting average in 24 relief appearances over 32 innings of work on the mound. The Polkton, N.C., native's 13 saves rank third all-time in the conference record books for saves in a single season.
Sophomore right-hander Lucas Smith posted a 3-1 record in 16 appearances (14 in relief) while recording a 2.00 ERA over 27 innings of work. He allowed just one run over his last 13 innings, while fanning 13 batters and walking just four. Reliever Cameron Hall, a native of Spartanburg, S.C., posted a 4.40 ERA in 21 appearances. The right-hander captured a save in AU's win over Mars Hill during the final regular-season series, while fanning 27 batters and walking just 11 over the course of the season.
Redshirt senior Dillon Carpenter battled through injuries last season to lead the team in both batting average (.393) and slugging percentage (.598). He was third on the team in on-base percentage (.474) and posted 14 multiple-hit games, while notching two five-game hitting streaks and a pair of four-game hitting streaks during the season.
Junior infielder Will Lindsey, who started 38 games last season, finished fourth in the league with 38 walks, seventh in the conference with his .476 on-base percentage and stood 27th in the conference with a .312 batting average. He carried a team-best five-game hitting streak into the 2019 SAC Tournament and reached base safely in the last five games of the regular season. Fellow junior Trevor Weisner drew a starting assignment in 31 contests and owned a .278 batting average.
Redshirt junior Chandler Castleberry finished last season tied for ninth in the league with nine home runs and led the Trojans with 15 multiple-hit games. He notched a team-best 10-game hitting streak in late March and reached base in 20 consecutive games during one stretch, while notching a .286 batting average on the season.
The South Atlantic Conference baseball season gets underway on Friday, Jan. 31. The 2020 Pilot Flying J South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship is slated for April 23-27 at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tenn.
Anderson will play host to King in the season-opening series for the second consecutive season, with a doubleheader slated for Saturday, Feb. 1. First-pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. The three-game series will conclude with a single contest, Sunday, Feb. 2, with first-pitch slated for 1 p.m.
Admission is free to Trojan baseball games.
2020 SAC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team (1st-place votes) Points
1. Catawba (8) 128
2. Newberry (4) 124
3. Lincoln Memorial 111
4. Wingate 98
5. Tusculum 95
6. Carson-Newman 84
7. Lenoir-Rhyne 72
8. Anderson 58
9. Coker 47
10. Queens 44
11. Mars Hill 37
12. UVa-Wise 26
2020 Preseason All-Conference First Team
OF – Jordan Griffin, Carson-Newman
OF – Tyler Thompson, Carson-Newman
OF – Jed Bryant, Wingate
1B – Hunter Shepherd, Catawba
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
3B – Tyler Adams, Lincoln Memorial
C – Tyler Blaum, UVa-Wise
DH – Nate Stinson, Lincoln Memorial
SP – Bryan Ketchie, Catawba
SP – Tomas Sorcia, Jr., Newberry
SP – Josh Bookbinder, Newberry
RP – Quinton Driggers, Newberry
2020 Preseason All-Conference Second Team
OF – Zane Tarrance, Newberry
OF – E.J. Ranel, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Nick Butler, Newberry
1B – Noah Jones, Queens
2B – Dalton Lansdowne, Newberry
SS – Colin Allman, Newberry
3B – Jackson Raper, Catawba
C – Dalton Dedas, Lincoln Memorial
DH – Michael Wroth, Carson-Newman
SP – Greg Duncan, UVa-Wise
SP – Alex Shirazi, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Sawyer Strickland, Catawba
RP – Hunter Dula, Wingate
