Baseball Picked Sixth In Pre-Season Poll

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Fitchburg State baseball team has been selected to finish sixth in the 2016 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Pre-Season Coaches Poll as announced by the league office.

Reigning 2015 MASCAC Tournament Champions Salem State has been selected to win the 2016 Championship in a vote of all seven coaches from around the league. The Vikings finished with seven first place votes for 49 points in this year's poll.

Coming in second with 35 points is Westfield State. Last season, the Owls finished the regular season with a 6-8 record in conference play. Sitting tied for third with 34 points are Massachusetts Maritime, who earned the final first place vote, and Worcester State. The Buccaneers and Lancers each won a share of last year's regular season title with a 10-4 conference record.

Framingham State is up next in fifth place with 28 points. The Rams tallied a 7-7 mark in MASCAC play last season. Landing in the sixth spot is Fitchburg State with 21 points. The Falcons netted five wins during the 2015 MASCAC campaign.

Rounding out the preseason poll in seventh and eighth are Bridgewater State and MCLA with 16 and 7 points, respectively. The Bears had five wins in conference play last year while the Trailblazers finished with three victories.

The MASCAC baseball season gets its start on Saturday when Fitchburg State and Massachusetts Maritime hit the diamond for their opening day contests.

The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, the nation's first Division III men's and women's playing conference, has a rich and storied tradition of competitive success while celebrating excellence in the classroom. MASCAC core member schools include Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, MCLA, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Salem State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University. Two other institutions, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Plymouth State University, are affiliate members of the conference in the sports of football and men's ice hockey, while Western Connecticut State University joined the conference as an affiliate member in football beginning in 2013-14.