Canisius Tops Poll; Iona's Burke Preseason Player of the Year
MAAC Sports
Edison, N.J. - Canisius College
has been chosen as the favorite to win the 2012 MAAC Baseball Championship,
according to a preseason poll voted on by the league's nine head coaches.
An extremely close
vote saw Canisius top the poll with 61 points followed by Rider University with
60. Manhattan College was picked third with 59 points, while Iona College was
fourth with 56. Marist College finished with 53 points, followed by Siena
College (43), Fairfield University (42), Saint Peter's College (16), and
Niagara University (15).
Iona senior third
baseman Chris Burke was voted the 2012 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. Burke,
a native of Islip, N.Y., was second in the league last year with a .368 batting
average. His 11 home runs and 114 total bases were both third best in the MAAC,
and he also stole 22 bases. Burke, who posted a .462 on-base percentage, drove
in 44 runs last season.
Burke was the only
unanimous selection to the Preseason All-MAAC Team, getting the nod at third
base. Burke's teammate Mike Chiaravalloti is the first baseman, while Manhattan's
Nick Camastro fills the shortstop position. A tie in the voting puts both Jose
Torralba of Canisius and Vincent Citro of Siena at second base. The outfield
features Rider's duo of Brandon Cotten and Nick Crescenzo along with Saint
Peter's Preston Aldridge. Marist's Eric Helmrich was chosen as the designated
hitter, while Canisius' Drew Pettit takes the utility spot. Manhattan's battery
of John Soldinger and Ramon Ortega make up the spots at pitcher and catcher,
respectively.
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2012
MAAC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
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2012
Preseason All-MAAC Team
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1.
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Canisius
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61
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Ramon Ortega
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Catcher
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Manhattan
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2.
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Rider
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60
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Mike Chiaravalloti
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First Base
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Iona
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3.
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Manhattan
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59
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Jose Torralba
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Second Base
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Canisius
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4.
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Iona
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56
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Vincent Citro
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Second Base
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Siena
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5.
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Marist
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53
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Nick Camastro
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Shortstop
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Manhattan
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6.
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Siena
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43
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Chris Burke
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Third Base
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Iona
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7.
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Fairfield
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42
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Brandon Cotten
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Outfield
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Rider
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8.
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Saint Peter's
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16
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Nick Crescenzo
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Outfield
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Rider
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9.
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Niagara
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15
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Preston Aldridge
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Outfield
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Saint Peter's
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Eric Helmrich
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Designated Hitter
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Marist
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Drew Pettit
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Utility
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Canisius
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John Soldinger
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Pitcher
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Manhattan
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2012
MAAC Preseason Player of the Year: Chris Burke, Iona
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