Baseball Picked to Finish Fifth in CCC Preseason Poll

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Back-to-Back defending champion Endicott College has been voted as the favorite to win the 2015 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) baseball championship after receiving all nine first place votes for a total of 81 points in the CCC preseason coaches' poll. Roger Williams University was selected second after earning a total of 66 points. Salve Regina University claimed third with 65 points, while CCC championship runner-up Western New England placed fourth after receiving 58 points to round out the top billing. After finishing sixth a season ago, the Wentworth Leopards were tabbed to finish fifth in 2015, garnering 36 points.

Voting for the preseason poll was conducted among the league's head baseball coaches.

Two of the top four team in the 2015 preseason poll faced off for the CCC title a season ago. The Gulls were victorious over the Golden Bears 5-3 after EC worked its way through the CCC tournament to win its sixth conference title and be named the 2014 CCC baseball champions.

After receiving the CCC automatic bid into the NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament, the Gulls would advance to the championship game for the second straight year after defeating MIT and Southern Maine, but fell to Southern Maine ending their season at 34-16, 13-3 in conference play.

With 19 letterwinners returning from last year's squad which made a second straight appearance in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament, veteran head coach Steve Studley's team looks poised to make a run at another conference tournament berth. At the plate, senior catcher Jake Mailman leads the returners after batting .343 with 12 doubles and 28 RBI as a junior. Senior Anthony Matera, a second team all-conference outfielder a season ago, hit .310 last year with four doubles, while senior Joe Hulme, an honorable mention All-CCC second baseman last season, is back after hitting .280 with five doubles, 23 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. On the hill, sophomore Aaron Denis posted a 5-3 record with a 3.29 ERA and 29 strikeouts, while classmate Zack Bernier picked up a pair of wins and a save to go along with 28 strikeouts in 39 innings of work.

All nine CCC baseball teams will start their quest for the 2015 conference title within the next two weeks. The top six teams in the 2015 regular-season conference standings will qualify for the conference tournament, which gets underway Thursday, April 30 and will continue through Sunday, May 3.

Wentworth opens the 2015 season on Sunday against Becker in Lakeland, Fla.

2015 CCC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll