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CALDWELL CHOSEN PRESEASON FAVORITE IN CACC BASEBALL

February 12, 2008

NEW HAVEN, CT --Caldwell College is the preseason favorite to win the 2008 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) regular-season baseball championship, according to a poll conducted by the league's 10 head coaches. The Cougars were picked first on eight of the 10 ballots, while Wilmington University collected two first-place nods.

Caldwell won the CACC regular-season championship last season with an 11-5 record and finished second at the CACC Tournament. The Cougars advanced to the NCAA Division II Northeast Region Tournament, where they won their opening game over UMass-Lowell before being eliminated with two losses. Caldwell concluded the season with a 25-15 record. The Cougars lost just one starter while returning 19 players from that team, including three All-CACC first team selections in sophomore starting pitcher Robert Casal, senior catcher Chris Chiarappa and sophomore outfielder Adric Saxon. Saxon was named the CACC Rookie of the Year last season.

Wilmington was the choice to finish second after winning the CACC Tournament Championship last year over Caldwell and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The Wildcats tied for second in the CACC regular-season standings at 10-6 and concluded the season 30-20 overall. The Wildcats are led by senior right-handed pitcher Joe Matterer and senior utility player Brian Testa. Both Matterer and Testa were named to the All-CACC first team in 2007.

Dominican College was picked third in the poll with 80 points after finishing 19-19 overall last year and 9-7 in the CACC to finish fourth. The Chargers are followed by Felician, which picked up 62 points from the coaches. The Golden Falcons were the third seed for last season's conference tournament after going 10-6 in conference play and 23-26 overall.

Philadelphia University claimed the fifth spot in the poll with 58 points after going 8-8 in CACC play and 14-21 overall last season. The rest of the poll is rounded out by Bloomfield College (48), Post University (45), Nyack College (36), USP (23) and conference newcomer, Chestnut Hill College (10). Chestnut Hill will be fielding a team for the first time in its history.

Some changes this season include the use of wood bats in conference games, which is a first for the CACC. The conference schedule has also changed, as each team will play conference opponents three times in the regular-season, for a 27-game conference slate. Teams played a 16-game CACC schedule last season.

The season begins on Saturday, February 16, when Bloomfield plays a pair of games at Virginia State. The conference slate gets underway on March 20, when Chestnut Hill plays its first-ever CACC game at USP. The conference tournament will be hosted by Wilmington for the fourth consecutive year on May 8-10, 2008.

The complete 2008 CACC Preseason Baseball Poll is listed below.

CACC Baseball 2008 Preseason Coaches' Poll

School 2007 Records -- Points

1. Caldwell (8) 25-15/11-5 CACC --98

2. Wilmington (2) 29-20/10-6 --90

3. Dominican 19-19/9-7 --80

4. Felician 23-26/10-6-- 62

5. Philadelphia 14-21/8-8 --58

6. Bloomfield 15-23/6-10 --48

7. Post 18-20/8-8 --45

8. Nyack 10-29/7-9 --36

9. USP 5-25/3-13 --23

10. Chestnut Hill NA --10

()-First Place Votes