Eagles Tabbed Co-Favorite, Three Named All-Conference
2/11/2010 3:19:00 PM | Baseball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Tabbed a co-favorite for the 2010 campaign, Georgia Southern and Elon share the top pick as selected in balloting of the league's 11 baseball coaches, while three Eagles were named preseason Second Team favorites. Media members who cover SoCon baseball selected Elon as the top team in 2010, narrowly edging out GSU. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams in the voting process on either ballot.
Sophomore pitcher Matt Murray (Spring City, Pa.), senior third baseman A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) and senior designated hitter Kyle Blackburn (Marietta, Ga.) all earned Second Team recognition, as selected by the head coaches.
The Phoenix received five of 11 possible first-place votes and 91 points from the league's head coaches while garnering 13 of 27 first-place nods on the media ballots. Coach Mike Kennedy's team returns three starters in the field and 12 of 15 pitchers from the 2009 team which went 23-4 in the SoCon and 41-18 overall en route to winning its second consecutive league regular season title.
Georgia Southern equaled Elon's 91 points in the coaches' balloting while also receiving four first-place votes. The Eagles, under the guidance of Rodney Hennon, finished second in the SoCon regular season race a year ago at 20-8 and 42-17 overall before claiming the 2009 SoCon Baseball Championship crown in Greenville, S.C. The Eagles enter 2010 with five returning starters in the field and 9 of 12 pitchers from last season.
The preseason all-conference team was headlined by Preseason Player of the Year Joey Bergman of College of Charleston and Preseason Pitcher of the Year Jimmy Reyes of Elon.
Joining Reyes on the first team as pitchers are The Citadel's Matt Talley and Elon reliever Thomas Girdwood. In addition to Reyes and Girdwood, the Phoenix also placed catcher Mike Melillo and outfielder Justin Hilt on the first team.
The 2010 Southern Conference baseball season begins on Friday, February 19 with all 11 league teams in action. The 2010 Southern Conference Baseball Championship will be held from May 26-30 at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston, S.C.
2010 SoCon Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
Place School (First) Points
1t. Elon (5) 91
1t. Georgia Southern (4) 91
3. The Citadel (2) 80
4. College of Charleston 76
5. Western Carolina 71
6. Appalachian State 50
7. Samford 40
8. Furman 33
9. UNC Greensboro 31
10. Davidson 24
11. Wofford 18
2010 SoCon Baseball Preseason Media Poll
Place School (First) Points
1. Elon (12) 253
2. Georgia Southern (10) 250
3. College of Charleston (2) 219
4. The Citadel (1) 213
5. Western Carolina 178
6. Appalachian State 159
7. Furman 103
8. UNC Greensboro 84
9. Samford 82
10. Davidson 60
11. Wofford 49
2010 Preseason All-Conference Team
Player of the Year – Joey Bergman, Sr., SS/3B, College of Charleston
Pitcher of the Year – Jimmy Reyes, Jr., LHP, Elon
First Team
P Jimmy Reyes, Elon
P Matt Talley, The Citadel
RP Thomas Girdwood, Elon
C Mike Melillo, Elon
1B David Towarnicky, Appalachian State
2B Wes Hobson, Appalachian State
SS Joey Bergman, College of Charleston
3B Brian Harrison, Furman
OF Nick Orvin, The Citadel
OF David Schulze, Samford
OF Justin Hilt, Elon
DH Ryan Daniels, College of Charleston
Second Team
P Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel
P Matt Murray, Georgia Southern
RP Drew Mahaffey, The Citadel
C Ed Jayjack, UNC Greensboro
1B Danny Weiss, Davidson
2B Ross Heffley, Western Carolina
SS Neal Pritchard, Elon
3B A.J. Wirnsberger, Georgia Southern
OF Cole Rakar, College of Charleston
OF Wayne Miller, Samford
OF Harry Austin, Elon
DH Kyle Blackburn, Georgia Southern
