Canisius Preseason Pick To Win MAAC Baseball
MAAC Sports
Canisius Preseason Pick To Win MAAC Baseball Title
Edison, N.J. – The Canisius College baseball team has been chosen as the favorite to win the 2014 MAAC Championship, according to a preseason poll voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.
The Golden Griffins, the defending MAAC champions, received 117 points, followed by second place Monmouth University, with 103 points. Rider University was picked to finish third with 95 points, while Siena College, the runnerup in last year’s championship, was fourth with 86 points. Marist College was fifth with 77 points, Fairfield University was sixth with 69 points, Manhattan College was seventh with 57 points, and Niagara University was eighth with 37 points. Rounding out the poll were ninth place Saint Peter’s (31), followed by Iona (28) and Quinnipiac (26).
Canisius senior first baseman Jimmy Luppens was the unanimous selection for Preseason Player of the Year. Luppens was a first-team All-MAAC selection after hitting .360 with 40 runs scored, 10 doubles, five home runs and 48 RBI. He ranked third in the MAAC in batting average, home runs, RBI and fifth in slugging percentage, and had 21 multi-hit games.
Luppens was also a unanimous choice for the preseason All-MAAC team at first base. Jim Smith of Saint Peter’s was selected as catcher, Jake Gronsky of Monmouth was selected as second baseman, Yoandry Galan of Manhattan was chosen as shortstop and Nick McQuail of Marist was selected at third base. The outfield included Ryan Plourde of Fairfield, Matt Pagano of Marist, John Rooney of Siena and Nick Crescenzo of Rider. Christian Santisteban of Manhattan was selected as the designated hitter, and Jordan Schwartz of Niagara was chosen at the utility spot. Siena’s Matt Gage was named to the team at pitcher.
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MAAC BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
(order of finish)
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POINTS
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1. Canisius
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117
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2. Monmouth
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103
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3. Rider
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95
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4. Siena
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86
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5. Marist
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77
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6. Fairfield
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69
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7. Manhattan
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57
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8. Niagara
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37
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9. Saint Peter’s
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31
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10. Iona
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28
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11. Quinnipiac
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26
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MAAC PRESEASON TEAM
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C Jimmy Smith
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Saint Peter’s
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1B Jimmy Luppens
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Canisius
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2B Jake Gronsky
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Monmouth
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SS Yoandry Galan
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Manhattan
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3B Nick McQuail
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Marist
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OF Ryan Plourde
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Fairfield
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OF Matt Pagano
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Marist
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OF John Rooney
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Siena
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OF Nick Crescenzo
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Rider
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DH Christian Santisteban
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Manhattan
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U Jordan Schwartz
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Niagara
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P Matt Gage
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Siena
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