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February 11, 2010

DOMINICAN CHARGERS PICKED FIRST IN CACC BASEBALL PRE-SEASON POLL

NEW HAVEN, CT (February 11, 2010)  -  Dominican College has been picked first according to the 2010 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) pre-season baseball poll, which was voted upon by the 11 CACC head coaches. The Chargers collected eight first-place votes, while Wilmington University, Felician College and Philadelphia University each garnered one first-place nod.  

Dominican earned 118 total points to top the pre-season poll. DC, which received votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Pre-season Top 25 Poll, won the CACC regular-season championship last season with a 22-5 record, which was seven games better than the nearest competitor. The Chargers advanced to the championship game of the CACC Tournament before getting upended by Wilmington. The Chargers earned the top seed for the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament and won one game before being eliminated. The Chargers return five All-Conference players this year, including 2009 CACC Pitcher of the Year, junior Tom Kahl and 2009 Rookie of the Year, relief pitcher Justin Moore. Also back are two second team selections in junior catcher Robert Iglesias and senior utility player Willie Mann. Senior Tommy Maloney, who was an All-CACC Honorable Mention last year, is also back for the Chargers.

Wilmington claimed 107 points to finish second in the poll. WU returns seven starters and 16 letter winners from its 2009 CACC Championship squad, including Tournament MVP, Mike Godwin. Godwin led the Wildcats with a .500 batting average (5-for-10) at the tournament with four runs batted in, two runs scored and two doubles. He also picked up a win on the mound with a victory over Bloomfield to open WU's tournament run. Also back in 2010 will be junior left-handed pitcher, Joe Harris, who was a second team All-CACC selection and a member of the All-Tournament team last season.  Wilmington earned the No. 6 seed at the 2009 NCAA Regional and notched two wins before being eliminated. Wilmington has captured two of the last three CACC Tournament championships (2007, 2009).

Felician was tabbed third with 96 points after missing the conference playoffs last season by a single game, finishing 14-13 in conference play and 24-24 overall. Pitching should be the team's strong point, especially the starting rotation, as returnees Danny Conti (first-team All-CACC), Jeff Calabrese and Kevin Ernst will be bolstered by transfers Phil Messerian (HM All-American at Nyack) and Joel Sanchez (Monroe College). Conti set the school record for single-season ERA last year as a junior. Senior catcher Marcos Torres is projected as a possible late-round MLB draft selection by the scouting service Perfect Game USA. Torres and junior 2B Mickey Zudonyi are returning all-region selections.

Bloomfield College was tabbed third with 75 points after earning the No. 2 seed for last season's CACC Tournament. The Deacons finished the season 15-12 in conference play and 18-26 overall. Conference newcomer Concordia College was picked fifth. The Clippers went 23-23-1 last season and 14-10 as a member of the East Coast Conference. The 2010 pre-season poll is rounded out by Post University (63 points), Caldwell College (61), Philadelphia (47), Chestnut Hill College (46), Nyack College (35) and The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (11).

The 2010 season is scheduled to begin this weekend, as Felician is slated to play four games at Coker College in South Carolina against C.W. Post and American International College. Conference play begins on March 20, with 10 of the 11 CACC teams in action.  

The CACC Tournament has been expanded to include six teams for the first time this season. A pair of single-elimination first-round games will be hosted on campus sites on Tuesday, May 4. The remaining four teams will play a double-elimination tournament at Wilmington University on May 6-8.

The complete 2010 CACC Pre-season Baseball Poll is listed below.

 
School 2009 Records Points
1. Dominican (8) 38-14/22-5 CACC 118
2. Wilmington (1) 29-29/15-12 107
3. Felician (1) 24-24/14-13 96
4. Bloomfield 18-26/15-12 75
5. Concordia 23-23-1/14-10* 67
6. Post 24-18/13-14 63
7. Caldwell 18-23/12-15 61
8. Philadelphia (1) 17-27/14-13 47
9. Chestnut Hill 18-25/13-14 46
10. Nyack 20-17/15-12 35
11. USP 3-41/2-25 11
()-First Place Votes    
*-Member of ECC