Posted: Jan 21, 2015

Huntingdon baseball ranked 5th in preseason USA South poll

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The Huntingdon baseball team enters its second season in the USA South ranked fifth in the conference. The USA South preseason poll was released on Wednesday.

The Hawks earned 65 points in the poll. Preseason favorite Ferrum received seven first-place votes and 94 points. Covenant was second with three first-place votes and 93 points, Piedmont was third with one first-place vote and 82 points and Methodist was fourth with 74 points.

Huntingdon is coming off a 21-17 season. The Hawks were 16-9 in the conference last season and finished third behind Covenant and Ferrum. Covenant and Ferrum shared the conference title last season.

Covenant, Huntingdon and Piedmont are not ranked in the D3baseball.com preseason Top-25 poll, but all three are receiving votes in the national poll.

Finishing out the preseason conference poll are North Carolina Wesleyan in sixth with 52 points, LaGrange in seventh with 44 points, Maryville in eighth with 37 points, Averett in ninth with 35 points, Greensboro in 10th with 16 points and William Peace in 11th with 13 points.

This will be the first season Peace has fielded a baseball team as a member of the USA South.

Huntingdon opens the season with a home conference series against North Carolina Wesleyan on Feb. 6-8. Game 1 is set for 5 p.m. on Feb. 6.

The complete poll is listed below.

USA South Preseason Baseball Poll

1. Ferrum (7 first-place votes), 94 points

2. Covenant (3), 93 points

3. Piedmont (1), 82 points

4. Methodist, 74 points

5. Huntingdon, 65 points

6. N.C. Wesleyan, 52 points

7, LaGrange, 44 points

8. Maryville, 37 points