SPARTANBURG, SC – The UNC Greensboro baseball team has been picked to finish sixth in the 2007 Southern Conference pre-season poll, according to the conference’s 10 head coaches.
College of Charleston took five first place votes to capture the top spot in the poll. Western Carolina finished second in the voting with two first-place votes and was followed by SoCon regular season champion Elon and Georgia Southern. Each received one first-place vote. The Citadel rounded out the top five.
Four first-team pre-season award winners also earned 2006 All-SoCon honors. Western Carolina’s third baseman Jonathan Greene and outfielder Steve Strausbaugh along with The Citadel’s Chris Swauger and Elon’s Robert Rodebaugh each earned 2006 all-conference honors.
All in all, College of Charleston placed six student-athletes on the pre-season first and second teams. The Citadel, Elon and Western Carolina had four players on the teams while Davidson finished with three players honored.
The Spartans open up their season on February 16 when they travel to Auburn for a three-game weekend series with the Tigers. UNCG finished with a 26-33 overall record and was 13-14 in the SoCon to finish seventh in the regular season. The Spartans will face off with Marist for their home opener at the UNCG Baseball Stadium on February 23-25.
AGATE
College of Charleston
(5)
69
Western Carolina
(2)
62
Elon
(1)
61
Georgia Southern
(1)
49
The
Citadel
46
UNC
Greensboro
38
Furman
33
Appalachian
State
20
Davidson
15
Wofford
12
Preseason All-Southern Conference Baseball Team
First-Team
Position
Name
(School)
Avg.
HR RBI
Catcher
Alex Garabedian
(CofC)
.366
6 51
First
Base
Chris Vasami
(Elon)
.322
14 57
Second
Base
Shane Kirkley
(Wof)
.322
12 40
Shortstop
Oliver Marmol
(CofC)
.314
2 33
Third
Base
Jonathan Greene
(WCU)
.338
14 54
Outfield
Steven Strausbaugh (WCU)
.340
17 64
Outfield
Chris Swauger
(Cit)
.356
7 43
Outfield
Gregory Zage
(Dav)
.320
12 49
Designated Hitter
Robert Rodebaugh
(Elon)
.340
11 60
W-L
ERA Sv
Starting
Pitcher
Nick Chigges
(CofC)
11-2
1.40 0
Starting
Pitcher
Steven Hensley
(Elon)
6-5
5.29 0
Starting
Pitcher
Danny Meszaros
(CofC)
9-2
3.22 1
Relief
Pitcher
Greg Holland
(WCU)
4-4
2.51 9
Second-Team
Position
Name
(School)
Avg.
HR RBI
Catcher
Griffin Benedict
(GSU)
.303
5 35
First
Base
Alden Crissey
(Dav)
.332
7
44
Second
Base
Chris Campbell
(CofC)
.319
4 58
Shortstop
Mike Gilmartin
(Wof)
Did not play in 2006
Third
Base
Adam Weaver
(Elon)
.329
3
47
Outfield
Sonny Meade
(Cit)
.306
3 50
Outfield
Matt Miller
(GSU)
.351
4 21
Outfield
Barrett Shaft
(WCU)
.354
1 37
Designated Hitter
Rob Wilson
(Dav)
.285
7 37
W-L
ERA Sv
Starting
Pitcher
Wes Wrenn
(Cit)
6-2
3.88 0
Starting
Pitcher
Jeff Beliveau
(CofC)
6-4
3.40 0
Starting
Pitcher
Tyler Sexton
(WCU)
8-6
4.04 0
Relief
Pitcher
Link Saunders
(Cit)
5-6
3.21 15
- UNCG -