Baseball Selected Fourth In America East Preseason Poll
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- With the spring season nearly a week away,
the University at Albany baseball team was selected fourth in the 2013 America
East Preseason Coaches' poll, as determined by the league's six head coaches and
announced by the conference office Wednesday.
The Great Danes garnered 13 points in the vote, ahead of
Hartford (12) and UMBC (5), while Stony Brook (23), Maine (19), and Binghamton
(18) took the top three slots.
UAlbany (22-32-1, 16-8 AE) looks to build on its most
successful conference season in the program's Division I history, winning 16
America East contests and earning the No. 2 seed in the America East Championship
in 2012. In that run, seven players earned all-conference honors and left-handed
pitcher Sean Lucas was selected in the 25th round of the MLB draft.
The Great Danes will rely on 2013 captains D.J. Hoagboon,
Josh Nethaway, Greg Muller and Jeff Welsh to lead the way. Hoagboon is the
team's top returning hitter, batting a team-best .318 in 2012 earning him a
spot on the All-America East Second Team. Nethaway hit .313 and also was a
second team selection, driving in 30 runs while splitting time between first
base and outfield. Muller finished the year with a .993 field percentage, while
Welsh hit .284 with a .474 slugging percentage.
UAlbany kicks off the season February 15-17th in Cary, N.C.
at Wright State's USA Baseball Complex Classic. The Great Danes will play
single games against Canisius, Toledo, Wright State and Delaware.
2013 Preseason Poll
Rank Team (1st-place votes), Total
1. Stony Brook (4), 23
2. Maine (1), 19
3. Binghamton (1), 18
4. Albany, 13
5. Hartford, 12
6. UMBC, 5
America East Web Release
