Baseball Tabbed Northeast Conference Preseason Favorite
Central Connecticut was tabbed as the favorite in the 2023 Northeast Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll it was announced on Friday. CCSU collected six first-place votes to top the poll conducted among the league's head coaches who were not able to vote for their own squad.
Central Connecticut was tabbed as the favorite in the 2023 Northeast Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll it was announced on Friday. CCSU collected six first-place votes to top the poll conducted among the league's head coaches who were not able to vote for their own squad.
The Blue Devils are slated to open the 2023 season at home against UMass on Tuesday, February 28.
Head coach Charlie Hickey is back to guide CCSU for the 25th season. The Blue Devils went 29-18 overall and 17-10 in conference play in 2022 and had seven players earn All-NEC honors. The Blue Devils have won seven league title under Hickey to go with four regular season titles.
The Blue Devils return a quartet of all-conference performers. Luke Garofalo and Anthony Mozzicato were both All-NEC First Team selections last season. Garofalo was the NEC's top reliever with a 5-1 record, three saves, and a 1.26 ERA in 17 appearances while sitting down 57 batters in 43.0 innings. Mozzicato's 3.25 ERA and .251 opponent batting average were both third-best in the league, and with a 7-4 mark, he ranked second on the circuit in wins. Vincent Spizzoucco returns after being named the 2022 NEC Rookie of the Year and earning second team All-NEC honors. He posted a 6-2 record and fanned 61 batters in 57.1 innings with a 3.77 ERA. Hunter Pasqualini returns after earning Second Team All-NEC honors in the outfield. He finished fourth in the NEC in hitting (.338), second in runs (53), third in hits (69) and posted a .900 OPS.
Defending NEC Tournament champion LIU received four first place nods and was slotted just behind the Blue Devils. FDU was ranked third and Merrimack slotted fourth. Rounding out the top-five was Wagner, which received one first-place vote. The NEC expanded its baseball membership to 11 with the addition of Coppin State, Delaware State, UMES and Norfolk State as associate members as part of a partnership with the MEAC. Coppin State won the 2022 MEAC Tournament title and Delaware State captured the 2022 MEAC regular season championship.
With the expanded membership comes a shift in the format of the league's postseason tournament. For the first time since the inception of the NEC Baseball Tournament in 1993, the field will include the top six finishers in the league standings at the conclusion of the conference's regular season schedule. The NEC Tournament will take place in Wappingers Falls, NY at Dutchess Stadium, the home of the Hudson Valley Renegades, from May 24-28. The double-elimination format will be comprised of three games on Wednesday and Thursday, and two on Friday and Saturday. The top two seeds will receive byes to Thursday.
