FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-080-07-08
Thursday, February 21, 2008

Elizabethtown College Favored in Commonwealth Conference Baseball Poll

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Two-time defending Commonwealth Conference champion Elizabethtown College has been picked to finish first in the annual preseason coaches poll, as voted upon by the league's five head coaches and released Thursday.

The Blue Jays finished 23-18 overall and 13-8 in the Commonwealth Conference in 2007, defeating Widener 12-1 in the title game to earn their second straight championship.

Head coach Cliff Smith begins his second year on the Elizabethtown bench with 17 letterwinners back from last year's squad, including six starting position players and two of the team's top three pitchers.

Senior catcher Jared Auman was the Commonwealth Conference Co-Player of the Year after hitting .404 with 11 doubles and 28 runs batted in. Senior outfielder Brandon Watson joined Auman as a first-team All-Conference pick after hitting .350 with 14 runs batted in, while junior Sam Heaps was a second-team All-Confernece selection after going 8-4 with a 3.01 earned run average in 11 starts.

Elizabethtown earned 18 points, including two first-place votes, to snag the top spot in the poll just ahead of Widener (17 points, two firsts). Messiah College (15 points, one first) and Lebanon Valley College (15 points) tied for third with Albright College in fifth with 10 points.

The Blue Jays open their 2008 schedule on Saturday, Feb. 23 at Shenandoah University, and play their first home game on Sunday, March 9 against Franklin & Marshall College. Elizabethtown opens its 12-game conference schedule on Friday, March 28 at Widener.