ERIE, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend Lions baseball team is projected to finish second in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) according to the 2019 Preseason Coaches Poll, announced on Tuesday.
The Lions trail just the La Roche Redhawks in the preseason projections. La Roche was voted to finish in first place after winning its fifth straight AMCC Championship in 2018.
Players to Watch for the Behrend are returning shortstop Scott Sada (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) and senior pitcher Phil Myers (DuBois, PA/DuBois Central Catholic). Sada is coming off one of the best offensive seasons in program history. Over his career, Sada has been tagged with awards including the 2019 Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-American and The Podcast About D3 Baseball First Team All-American 2019, American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Division III All-Mideast Region Team, AMCC All-Conference second team selection, and AMCC All-Academic Team. Last season, Sada ranked second in the AMCC in hits, runs, batting average, and doubles while also ranking fifth in the AMCC in triples, eighth in home runs, third in RBI's, fourth in on-base percentage, third in slugging percentage, and fourth in stolen bases.
Behrend also returns senior southpaw Myers, who appeared and started in 10 games last season. In 56 innings on the bump, had 34 strikeouts which was good for 5.46 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Lions begin their season on Saturday, February 23 against Lynchburg in Fayetteville, North Carolina at 11 a.m.
Pre-Season Ranking*
1. La Roche (1)
2. Penn State Behrend (3)
3. Pitt-Greensburg (2)
4. Pitt-Bradford (T4)
5. Penn State Altoona (T4)
6. Mount Aloysius (T7)
7. Alfred State (T7)
8. Hilbert (6)
9. Medaille (9)
10. D'Youville (10)
*Number in parenthesis is order of regular season finish in 2018