Cardinals Picked To Claim Landmark Baseball Title

MADISON, N.J. - The Catholic University of America baseball team has been selected as the favorite to claim the first-ever Landmark Conference baseball championship according to the Landmark Conference Preseason Baseball Poll. The baseball coaches and sports information directors at each institution that sponsors the sport were polled for the preseason ballot.

Catholic was tabbed as the favorite in the seven-team poll as the Cardinals collected 55 points in the balloting, including six first-place votes. Juniata College falls into the second spot in the poll with 49 points. Moravian College, the only squad other than Catholic or Juniata to collect a first-place vote, is third in the poll with 36 points.

The Cardinals went 18-20 in 2007 and placed third in the conference during the regular season. All-Conference choices Joe Maca and Matthew Rosner both return for Catholic as does the entire starting infield and starting pitching staff from the 2007 season.

Graduation was also pretty kind to Juniata, which brings back most of its starting lineup from a team that finished 17-17-1 last year. Tom Gibboney takes the reins of the team for the first season as head coach and he'll have the benefit of a three-time All-Conference first baseman and a two-time All-Conference pitcher.

Moravian enjoyed a bounce back 2007 season after a rough 2006 campaign and finished with an overall record of 16-20 under a first-year head coach. Eight starters and 22 letterwinners will be back for the team this season. Among them are a second-team All-Conference returnee and five players who hit .300 or better in 2007.

The University of Scranton nailed down the fourth spot in the voting with 31 points. The Royals were 13-24 in 2007 but will be another team with an experienced roster in 2008. Justin Champagne was an All-Conference pitcher as a freshman and is one of seven regular starters who return for Scranton this season.

A pair of teams collected 24 points in the voting to tie for fifth in the poll. Drew University will be one of the younger teams in the conference with just eight upperclassmen on the roster. The Rangers have their top run scorer back in the fold from a team that went 13-23 last year.

Susquehanna University also collected 24 points to tie for fifth in the poll. A young Crusaders team battled through a tough 9-27-1 record last season. But only four players graduated from that team and there are three returning All-Conference performers, including the conference Rookie of the Year back on the roster.

United States Merchant Marine Academy claimed the seventh spot in the poll with 12 points. Experience will be on the Mariners' side as well as the team lost only one player to graduation from a 7-27 team. USMMA brings back two All-Conference selections from last year, as well as its two winningest pitchers.

Preseason favorite Catholic will be the first team to hit the field as the Cardinals host Gallaudet in a non-conference game Feb. 23. Landmark Conference play will begin March 15 with Juniata playing at Catholic, USMMA hosting Drew and Susquehanna traveling to Moravian. All Landmark series are three games, with a doubleheader on Saturday followed by a single nine-inning game on Sunday.