FOREST, Va. – Guilford College’s baseball team was picked sixth in the annual preseason Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Poll released Friday. The league’s head coaches cast votes in the 10-team poll.
Bridgewater College sits first thanks to seven first-place nods and 79 points. Defending league champion Randolph-Macon College earned the remaining three first-place votes and holds second place, 10 points behind the Eagles. Lynchburg College (64 points) and Washington and Lee University (53 points) sit third and fourth, respectively.
The Quakers will miss the services of 2011 ODAC Player of the Year Kyle Wooden ’11, but seventh-year head coach Nick Black ’02 welcomes back five starters among 22 letter winners from last season’s 16-24 team (9-9 ODAC). Guilford three of its top pitchers, including senior Micah Winterstein, who posted a club-low 2.45 earned run average in 12 relief appearances a year ago. Junior right-hander Will James led the team with a 4-3 record in 18 games, including eight starts. Senior Zack Montalbano is back after hitting .350 with a homer and 29 RBI in 2011. Junior shortstop D.J. Phillips (.343, 7 2B, 19 RBI) returns after picking up Second Team All-ODAC honors last year.
Guilford’s scheduled season-opening series at Piedmont College was moved from this weekend to March 7-8 due to impending rain. The Quakers look to kick off the 2011 campaign Feb. 8 versus visiting Greensboro College at 2:30 p.m.
2012 ODAC BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL (#) denotes first-place votes
1.Bridgewater (7) 79
2.Randolph-Macon (3) 69
3.Lynchburg 64
4.Washington and Lee 53
5.Hampden-Sydney 46
6.Virginia Wesleyan 43
7.Guilford 41
8.Roanoke 21
9. Eastern Mennonite 20
10.Emory & Henry 14.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Story as submitted, ranking says Guilford in Seventh Place.
Guilford has the potential to be better than 7th in ODAC…. Macon Smith from W Guilford/W Carolina will contribute alot… Coach Black.. Coach Hadra brought in alot of players this year… Players that can contribute at the plate and on the mound this season….
I agree with BBFan on this one…….the addition of Smith will elevate Guilford to the upper tier of the ODAC. He’ll sit somewhere right in the middle of that lineup and produce immediately just like Wooden did for GC. Good luck to Coach Black and the guys on the upcoming season!