Baseball Tabbed Second in NEC Preseason Poll
Central Connecticut was picked second in the 2021 Northeast Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll it was announced on Wednesday. CCSU, which has won the past two league titles, 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 2022 season at home against Hartford on Tuesday, March 1.
CCSU went went 28-15 overall and 21-9 in conference play in 2021. The Blue Devils won their seventh league title under head coach Charlie Hickey by defeating regular season champion Bryant in the deciding seventh game at the league championship. The Blue Devils advanced to the Eugene Regional and went toe-to-toe with national powers, Oregon and LSU in the NCAA Tournament.
Central had 10 all-conference honorees in 2021, headlined by seniors Jay Devito and Sam Loda, along with sophomore Noah Martinez. Devito was a steadying influence in the order hitting .333 and was solid defensively at third base. Loda has started at catcher for two NCAA Tournament teams, while Martinez hit a team-leading 37 RBIs and seven homeruns in his first season with CCSU. Central loses its two most experienced starting pitchers, but will return NEC Rookie of the Year Jake Neuman who went 5-1 with eight saves and a 1.67 ERA as a freshman. He will likely move into the rotation and join sophomore Anthony Mozzicato who went 5-2 and tossed 58.1 innings in 13 starts in 2021.
Bryant was tabbed as the preseason favorite, collecting five first-place votes. Sacred Heart received the final first-place vote and was picked third, followed by LIU, Wagner, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary's and FDU.
CCSU will have a 27-game, round-robin, conference schedule from March 25-May 21. The three-game series' will be held over over nine weekends. 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 26-29 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT.
