Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Baseball Picked Third in MAC Preseason Poll
February 11, 2002 | Baseball
Feb. 11, 2002
Cleveland, Ohio - Defending Mid-American Conference tournament champion Kent State and Ball State, last year's regular season champion, have been tabbed to win their respective divisions of the baseball season in the Mid-American Conference, announced today by the league office. Voting for the team was conducted by the league,s head coaches. The Cardinals, who have had their hands on the last four West Division crowns, are a near unanimous choice to win the division again. BSU is also favored to win the MAC tournament title again this year, capturing eight votes while Miami picked up two nods. Central Michigan and Kent State also received one vote each to win the conference tournament, while one coach didn't pick a tournament champion.
Last year's East Division champion Bowling Green is picked to finish third in the East Division with two first-place votes and 69 points. The Falcons, who won the division for the third time in four seasons, return 20 letterwinners from a team that finished 36-18 a year ago overall and 18-9 in the conference. Three second-team all-MAC players are back for the Falcons, Tim Newell (Sr., CA), Corey Loomis (Jr., 2B) and Len Elias (Sr., OF). Newell hit .333 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs, while Loomis batted .369 with 10 homer and Elias hit .397, which was sixth in the MAC last season. On the mound, the Falcons lost second-team all-conference hurler Craig Menke (6-1, 3.45) to graduation but return sophomores Clayton Booth (5-2, 7.36 ERA, 5 saves) and Kyle Knoblauch (5-3, 6.54).
BGSU begins its 2002 season this weekend with a three-game series at the University of Tennessee (Feb. 15-17).
2002 MAC Baseball - Preseason Coaches Poll
East Division 1. Kent State (8) 86 2. Miami (3) 75 3. Bowling Green (2) 69 4. Ohio 55 5. Akron 33 Marshall 33 7. Buffalo 13West Division 1. Ball State (12) 77 2. Central Michigan (1) 63 3. Western Michigan 46 4. Toledo 31 5. Northern Illinois 29 6. Eastern Michigan 27
Tournament Winner Ball State 8 Miami 2 Kent State 1 Central Michigan 1
Note: First-place votes in parentheses, one coach didn,t pick a tournament champion.
