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News Release

Retrievers Picked To Finish Seventh In America East Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll

2/15/2007


Junior Joe Fowler returns as the Retrievers' lone returning all-conference player.

BOSTON—The UMBC baseball team has been picked to finish seventh in the 2007 America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which was released on Tuesday.  The Retrievers received 13 points in a vote of the participating conference school head coaches.  The University of Maine, the two-time defending America East champion was a unanimous pick to win the conference title for the third year in a row, garnering all seven first-place votes for 49 total points. 

 

Binghamton University was picked to finish second, totaling 39 points, while the University of Vermont came in at third for the second-straight year with 30 points.  University at Albany followed with 26 points and Stony Brook University just one point behind with 25 points. University of Hartford (14) and UMBC (13) round out the seven-team poll.

Head coach John Jancuska enters his 30th year with the Retrievers, totaling a career record of 620-571-6 and is looking to lead the Retrievers to their first-ever trip to the America East Championship.  The top four teams in the conference will advance to the America East Championship, held at the highest seed that has a field with lights, on May 24-26. The winner of the double-elimination tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

UMBC looks to improve on its seventh-place conference finish last season, sporting a 5-17 conference and 18-34 overall record.

The Retrievers return 2006 conference honorees in junior outfielder Joe Fowler and sophomore left-handed pitcher Eddie Bach. 

Fowler was named a first-team all-conference selection after batting .345 with 69 hits and a league-best 26 doubles in 2006, while Bach was an all-rookie selection after finishing with a 3-5 record and a 4.89 ERA.  The Retrievers also owned the league’s best fielding percentage at .959, counting just 79 errors in 52 games.

The Retrievers kick-off the 2007 season with a three-game series in Williamsburg, Va. against William and Mary on Feb. 23-25.  UMBC faces Yale in its home-opener on Mar. 3 at the Baseball Factory Field and begins conference play with a home contest against Hartford on Apr. 6.