Baseball | 1/24/2019 1:35:00 PM

    URBANA, Ohio – The West Liberty University baseball team was one of several Mountain East Conference programs to receive votes in the annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region preseason poll.
    Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers, who are coming off their second straight runner-up finish in the MEC North Division and their sixth consecutive 20-win season, received two votes from the NCBWA regional ranking committee.
    Millersville received 8 of the 13 first-place votes to earn the No. 1 preseason ranking with defending Atlantic Region champion Mercyhurst picking up 4 first-place votes to slot in at No. 2. West Chester got the remaining first-place vote to edge out defending MEC champion Shepherd for the No. 3 spot with Seton Hill closing out the top five.
    Charleston was No. 6 followed by Bloomsburg, Slippery Rock, Gannon and Concord. West Liberty joined Winston-Salem State, East Stroudsburg and Shippensburg among teams also receiving votes.
    Coach Burkle and the Hilltoppers are scheduled to open the 2019 season on Feb. 8 when they travel to Due West, S.C. for a 2:30 p.m. game against Erskine College.
                                                         2018
Team (FPV)                               Record        Pts.
  1. Millersville (8)                      37-20         123
  2. Mercyhurst (4)                    36-15         116
  3. West Chester (1)                31-17         105
  4. Shepherd                              38-17         84
  5. Seton Hill                                34-22         82
  6. Charleston                            36-23         61
  7. Bloomsburg                          31-20         46
  8. Slippery Rock                       30-19         41
  9. Gannon                                  31-18         32
10. Concord                                 26-23         11
     Also receiving votes: Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 5; East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 5; WEST LIBERTY 2; Shippensburg (Pa.) 2