Piedmont baseball selected to finish 3rd in 2015 USA South preseason poll

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Piedmont College Baseball team has been selected to finish third in the 2015 USA South Preseason Poll released earlier today by the conference. The poll, which is voted on by the 11 head coaches within the league, saw Piedmont receive a total of 82 points as well as a first place nod.<br /> <br /> Picked to finish at the top of the league was Ferrum College who took the top spot by just a single point with 94 overall and claiming seven of the 11 first place votes. The Panthers finished the 2014 season with a share of the USA South Championship after finishing with a 19-8 record, the same as Covenant who received the conference bid to the NCAA tournament holding the head-to-head tie-breaker.<br /> <br /> One year removed from that NCAA tournament appearance, Covenant came in a close second in the USA South Preseason Coaches Poll with 93 points and three first place votes. Piedmont was the final team to receive a first place vote taking the third spot.<br /> <br /> The Lions return relief pitcher Allen Tokarz who was named an All-South Region pick by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) after posting the second lowest ERA in the entire USA South Athletic Conference during 2014. Piedmont also returns four of the five athletes who earned a spot on the 2014 All-Conference listing as Tokarz, first baseman Breck Davidson, second baseman Will Skidmore and outfielder Evan Gresham all return for the Lions.<br /> <br /> Finishing one spot below Piedmont was Methodist claiming 74 points while Huntingdon with 65 points rounded out the top five. Spots six through 10 mirrored how these teams finished in the 2014 standings as it was N.C. Wesleyan in 6th (52 points), LaGrange in 7th (44 points), Maryville in 8th (37 points), Averett in 9th (35 points) and Greensboro in 10th (16 points).<br /> <br /> The final spot belongs to newcomer William Peace as the Pacers will be fielding a baseball team in the conference for the first time. In their first preseason poll, the Pacers were selected to finish 11th with 13 points.<br /> <br /> Three teams within the league are currently representing the USA South on a national scale as Piedmont, Covenant and Huntingdon are all in the "Others receiving votes" category of the D3Baseball.com Preseason National Top-25 Poll.<br /> <br /> Piedmont will begin the 2014 season on the road against Maryville for a three game series February 6-8. The Lions will then open play at Loudermilk Stadium the following weekend hosting LaGrange.