NEWARK, Del. - - Heading into the 2018 season, the Wilmington University baseball team will be ranked eighth in the East Region as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) announces the 2018 Preseason Poll and All-Region Teams.
The Wildcats finished 30-21 last year and 10th in the final NCBWA East Region Poll of 2017. They garnered 33 points and sit in eight place to start the 2018 season. Reigning East Region champion and NCAA Division II National Tournament participant St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) earned eight first place votes and 89 total points to claim the top spot.
Southern New Hampshire earned the final first place vote and finished second with 82 total points. Reigning NE10 Tournament Champion New Haven earned the third spot with 70 points.
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference foe Felician is ranked fourth with 53 points while LIU Post takes fifth with 48 points. Franklin Pierce starts a close group in sixth with 38 points while Le Moyne is seventh with 34 points. Wilmington follows the Dolphins with 33 points while Southern Connecticut State is ninth with 31 points. Pace rounds out the Preseason Top 10 with 10 points.
The NCBWA also released the 2018 Preseason All-East Region Team and the Wildcats were represented with three student-athletes.
Reigning All-Region and First Team All-CACC pitcher Sean Deely is the lone representative on the First Team while Second Team All-CACC first baseman Kendall Small and Second Team All-CACC reliever Dan Hyatt earned spots on the Second Team Preseason All-Region Team.
The Wildcats schedule again begins with a trip to Myrtle Beach on the weekend of February 23-25. The Wildcats will square off against four regionally ranked opponents throughout the weekend, including No. 3 New Haven, No. 5 LIU Post, No. 7. Le Moyne, and No. 9 Southern Connecticut State.
AGATE:
2018 NCBWA Preseason All-East Region Teams
First Team:
C: Andrew Jaehnig, Sr., Assumption, Quincy, Mass.
1B: Angelo Navetta, Sr., Molloy, Staten Island, N.Y.
2B: Justin Decker, Jr., Dominican (N.Y.), Rotterdam, N.Y.
3B: Jack Zagaja, Grad., New Haven. Merrick, N.Y.
SS: Joseph Pena, Sr., St. Thomas Aquinas, Brooklyn, N.Y.
OF: Rob Andreoli, Sr., LIU Post. North Wantagh, N.Y.
OF: Giovanni Dingcong, Sr., St. Thomas Aquinas, Daly City, Calif.
OF: Matt Diesel. Sr., Felician, Massapequa Park, N.Y.
DH: Ryan Sullivan, Sr., So. New Hampshire, Hopkinton, Mass.
Util: Jason Polgano, Sr., Felician, Bronx, N.Y.
SP: Sean Deely, Jr., Wilmington (Del.), Wilmington, Del.
SP: Frankie Moscatiello, Sr., St. Thomas Aquinas, Rocky Point, N.Y.
SP: David Palmer, Sr., New Haven, East Islip, N.Y.
RP: Josiah Gray, Jr., LeMoyne, New Rochelle, N.Y.
Second Team:
C: Stephen Octave, Sr., Franklin Pierce, New Windsor, N.Y.
1B: Kendall Small, Jr., Wilmington (Del.), Dover, Del.
2B: Steven Withers, Sr., Adelphi, Staten Island, N.Y.
3B: John Friday, Sr. Franklin Pierce, Southborough, Mass.
SS: Bruce Strickland, Sr., Felician, Hazlet, N.J.
OF: Michael Gulino, Sr., Pace, Meriden, Conn.
OF: Nick Lamberti, Jr.., So. Conn. State, East Haven, Conn.
OF: Caleb Potter, Sr., So. New Hampshire, Mentor, Ohio
DH: Don Walsh, Sr., Post, Hamilton, N.J.
Util: Anthony Shkrelja, Sr., St. Thomas Aquinas, Bedford Hills, N.Y.
SP: John Amendola, Sr., Franklin Pierce, Wallingford, Conn.
SP: Chris Cepeda, Jr., St. Thomas Aquinas, Pt. Jeff. Station, N.Y.
SP: Mitchell Powers, Sr., So. New Hampshire, Portland, Maine
RP: Dan Hyatt, Jr. Wilmington (Del.), Newark, Del.