Baseball: Bison tabbed seventh in PAC Preseason Poll
TRAFFORD, Pa. – The Bethany College baseball team is predicted to finish seventh in this season's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) preseason poll released by the league office Wednesday morning.
The annual poll collects votes from each of the league's 11 head coaches.
Washington & Jefferson College earned nine first-place votes and 99 total points to secure the top spot in the preseason poll. Grove City placed second, totaling 88 points and one first-place vote. Allegheny were ranked third with 83 points and the final first-place vote.
Last year's PAC Tournament runner-up Westminster College placed fourth with 69 points, just ahead of Saint Vincent College, who totaled 68 to come in fifth. Thiel College was sixth with 49 points, followed by Bethany College in seventh (39), Waynesburg University in eighth (34), Chatham University (33) in ninth, Franciscan University (27) and Geneva College (16).
Fifth year head coach Justin Thomas returns some key contributors from last season including All-PAC honoree, pitcher Zach Pressnell (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North). Pressnell finished the season with five wins and one save. He accumulated a 4.55 earned run average pitching 59.1 innings pitched. He struck out 59 batters and walked 28.
Joining Pressnell on the mound this season as a PAC Player to Watch is senior Mark Lavezza (Bridgeport, W.Va./Bridgeport) and junior Trey Mantle (Groveport, Ohio/Groveport Madison). Lavezza started 11 games while pitching 60.0 innings with 32 strikeouts last season. He earned five wins with three complete games. Mantle made 11 appearances with 10 starts while pitching 67.2 innings and striking out 46 batters last season. He earned two wins with two complete games.
Infielder Alec Berg (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) and outfielder JT Hubert (Green, Ohio/Green) round out the PAC Player to Watch list for the Bison. Berg appeared in 21 games primarily at first base and as a designated hitter. He also made five appearances on the mound with two starts.
As a freshman, Hubert appeared in 14 games with a .357 batting average. He made eight appearances on the mound with a three starts and a 1-1 record.
The Bison return 25 from last year's team and have 13 new faces. Joining the Bison is transfer Josh Speaker (Steubenville, Ohio/Indian Creek). Speaker was an All-PAC Honorable Mention in 2021 when he played for PAC foe, Franciscan.
The Bison open their 2023 season on Sunday, Feb. 19, with La Roche in a single 9-inning game at Bethany Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
