Baseball Tabbed Second in NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Central Connecticut was picked second in the 2021 Northeast Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll it was announced on Wednesday. CCSU, which won the 2019 league title, collected two first-place votes. The league's head coaches voted in the poll and were not able to vote for their own squad.
The Blue Devils are slated to open the 2021 season with a three-game series at home against Maine on February 26, 27, and 28.
CCSU went 4-8 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. The Blue Devils went 31-23 in 2019 and won the program's sixth conference title under head coach Charlie Hickey. The Blue Devils posted a 7-4 win over #24 Cal for the program's first NCAA Tournament win in during that season and have won two of the last three NEC titles in the past three seasons.
Seniors Buddy Dewaine and Dave Matthews lead the returnings in the CCSU lineup after both earned NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team recognition in 2019. Seniors Brandon Fox and Andrew Braun both return to lead an experienced rotation. Fox was 1-2 with a 0.43 ERA in three starts last season, while Braun was 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA in three starts.
Bryant was tabbed as the preseason favorite, collecting six first-place votes. Wagner and Merrimack rounded out the top four. Sacred Heart, LIU, Mount St. Mary's and Fairleigh Dickinson completed the poll.
CCSU will have a 30-game, round-robin, conference schedule from March 19-May 22. The three-game series' will be held over over ten weeks. The top four teams in the league's regular-season standings will qualify for a double-elimination NEC Championship. The postseason will be contested on May 27-30 at a location TBD.