Link: GNAC Release
Winthrop, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College baseball team has been picked to finish sixth in the 2020 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released on Thursday afternoon. The poll is voted on by the league's nine head coaches.
Albertus finished last season with a 20-14 overall record and an 9-7 mark in GNAC play. Albertus secured wins against conference rivals Lasell University and Johnson & Wales University, and recorded doubleheader sweeps of Norwich University, Colby-Sawyer College, and Rivier University.
The Falcons return a core of their top players from last year, including senior Matt Warren (Wolcott, Conn.), who led the conference in triples (2), was third in runs batted in (20), and was seventh in doubles (12), en route to a 1st-Team All-Conference selection. Sophomore Elijah Spataj (Cheshire, Conn.), who was the runner-up GNAC Rookie of the Year and a Third-Team All-Conference selection behind a .349 batting average and team-leading .596 slugging percentage is also returning.
Sophomores Joe Matthews (Anaheim, California) and Eduardo Pena (Hamden, Conn.) had break-out second halves for the Falcons in 2019. Matthews batted a solid .327 during the second half, delivering two doubles and seven RBIs and crossing the plate 16 times for the Falcons. Pena slugged his way to an even .400 batting average during the second half, tallying a pair of doubles and smashing four homeruns, while going a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen bases. He drove in 16 runs and scored just as many.
With their talented core of players, the Falcons baseball team earned 41 points in this year's preseason rankings, finishing in sixth place, ahead of Colby-Sawyer (24 points), Norwich (22 points), and Rivier (10 points).
Suffolk took the top spot in the rankings, with 76 points, and six of the nine first-place votes. Saint Joseph's Maine finished in second place and picked up two of the remaining three first-place votes, while Johnson & Wales slotted into third place with the final first-place vote.
Anna Maria and Lasell rounded out the group, finishing solidly in the middle of the pack in fourth and fifth place, with 48 and 46 points, respectively.
2020 GNAC Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Suffolk (6) - 76
2. Saint Joseph's Maine (2) - 71
3. Johnson & Wales (1) - 67
4. Anna Maria - 48
5. Lasell - 46
6. Albertus Magnus - 41
7. Colby-Sawyer - 24
8. Norwich - 22
9. Rivier - 10
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To learn more about Albertus Magnus College Falcons Athletics, visit AlbertusFalcons.com and follow the Falcons on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
