Baseball: Bison Tabbed Fifth in PAC Preseason Poll

Greenville, Pa. – The Bethany College Baseball team was predicted to finish tied for fifth with Westminster in this season's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) preseason poll released by the league office Tuesday afternoon.

The annual preseason poll collects votes from each of the league's 10 head coaches.

W&J enters the season No. 17 on the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason Top 25 and was tabbed to finish first this season in the PAC.

Grove City finished second in the poll, followed by Saint Vincent and Franciscan.

Thiel College was seventh, Waynesburg University was eighth, Chatham University was ninth and Geneva College was 10th.

The Bison finished fifth in the PAC during the 2021 season with an overall record of 16-21 and 14-13 PAC.

Fourth year head coach Justin Thomas returns some key contributors from last season including All-PAC honorable mentions Trey Mantle, Mike Whiteherse and Kevin Pollock. The Bison also return their dynamic duo of the middle infield with Cory Newman and Colton Stoneman and ace Mark Lavezza.

Last season pitching duo Mantle and Lavezza led the Bison on the mound. Mantle finished the season 5-2 with an ERA of 3.27. He recorded 23 strikeouts and 17 walks. Lavezza finished the season 4-5 with an ERA of 3.73. He notched 33 strikeouts and 15 walks in 70.0 innings pitched.

"Mark and Trey both had to grow up quick last spring and had great years for us.  I expect them to lead the way of our three-man weekend rotation" expressed Coach Thomas. "Each weekend, we feel like we can give the ball to someone who can win and that will be a big part of our success.  We feel like pitching will be one of our strengths and these young men are a large part of the reason why."

Middle infield duo Newman and Stoneman look to anchor the Bison infield this season. Newman was batting a .290 with 18 hits and 19 runs batted in before suffering a season ending injury. 

"I'm excited to see Cory take on a larger role our team, and at his natural position at shortstop. He's worked hard off the field and has developed on the field" said Coach Thomas. "He's recovered from a late season injury and is working at full speed.  I fully expect his development to be on display this spring and I'm looking forward to seeing it."

Stoneman finished the 2021 campaign batting .392 with 20 hits and nine runs batted in. He scored nine runs and had a .412 slugging percentage.

"Colton pulled double duty last spring with football and baseball and still performed well for us.  He was also bit by the injury bug last spring, but has recovered" added Coach Thomas. "Colton is consistent and reliable, which is a large part of his success.  He was a starter as a freshman in 2020 and I'm looking forward to have him full time in 2022."

Anchoring the outfield is senior Kevin Pollock who finished the season batting .315 with 39 hits, 20 runs batted in and 20 runs scored. He had 11 doubles and one triple.

 "Kevin had a great year for us last year and I believe the biggest reason was his consistency.  All of last season it felt like Kevin was there and was performing at a high level" said Coach Thomas "Only thing that held him back last season was a lower body injury, and even still, he played through the injury at a high level.  I'm excited to see him patrol the outfield for us this spring."

The Bison open their 2022 season on February 26, with a doubleheader against Penn State-Fayette at 12 pm at Bethany Park.