Saturday, January 26, 2008

TUSCULUM RANKED SECOND IN PING!BASEBALL POLL

OMAHA, Neb. --- The Tusculum College baseball team is ranked second in the nation according to the Ping!Baseball Division II Preseason Poll announced College officials.

The Pioneers return 20 lettermen, including eight starters and nine pitchers from last year’s South Atlantic Conference championship team. Tusculum is coming off its best season in school history, posting a 50-14 record and winning its third consecutive SAC title. The Pioneers also advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last five years.

Defending national champion Tampa holds the top spot in the poll. Tusculum is second, followed by Mesa State, Columbus State, Angelo State, Florida Southern, Mount Olive, Franklin Pierce, Abilene Christian and Ouachita Baptist to round out the top 10. The second 10 is comprised of Grand Valley State, Southern Indiana, California State-Los Angeles, Montevallo, Georgia College & State University, Delta State, Cal State-Chico, Central Missouri, Minnesota State-Mankato and California-San Diego. The final 10 includes West Florida, Francis Marion, Emporia State, Ashland, St. Edward’s, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Nebraska-Omaha, West Chester, Kutztown and Southern Arkansas.

Tusculum and Mount Olive will test their top 10 rankings right out of the gate when the two teams square off in a three-game series to open the season. That series will be played next weekend at Mount Olive.

Of Tusculum’s eight returning starters, three earned All-America distinction last season, including SAC and South Region Player of the Year Maikol Gonzalez. Gonzalez (Maracaibo, Venezuela) led the team with a .444 batting average, while posting a school and league record 14 triples, which also led the nation in 2007. He also posted 10 doubles, two home runs and a team-best 65 RBI.

Senior outfielder Carlos Rivera is also slated to return after establishing a new TC and SAC record with 101 hits. Rivera (Leesburg, Va.) batted .398 with 17 doubles, eight triples and 59 RBI, while also posting 23 stolen bases.

Senior catcher Christian Rosa also earned All-America honors in 2007 while batting .339 with a team-leading nine home runs and 63 RBI. Rosa (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) also established a new school record with 29 stolen bases last year.

- TC -

Ping!Baseball Division II Preseason Top 30 Poll
Rk.	Team
1	Tampa
2	TUSCULUM
3	Mesa State
4	Columbus State
5	Angelo State
6	Florida Southern
7	Mount Olive
8	Franklin Pierce
9	Abilene Christian
10	Ouachita Baptist
11	Grand Valley State
12	Southern Indiana
13	Cal State-Los Angeles
14	Montevallo
15	Georgia College & State Univ.
16	Delta State
17	Cal State-Chico
18	Central Missouri
19	Minnesota State-Mankato
20	UC-San Diego
21	West Florida
22	Francis Marion
23	Emporia State
24	Ashland
25	St. Edward’s
26	SIU Edwardsville
27	Nebraska-Omaha
28	West Chester
29	Kutztown
30	Southern Arkansas