ERIE, Pa. – The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) released the 2023 Preseason Coaches Poll for baseball on Wednesday, projecting the Behrend Lions and the Mt. Aloysius Mounties to finish atop the conference.

The Lions and Mounties tied for the most votes, while Alfred State was picked to finish third. Behrend tallied a 27-15 overall record and a 15-2 conference mark last year, while earning runners up in the AMCC Championships. The Mounties are the defending AMCC Champions, boasted an identical 27-15 overall record in 2022.

Behrend is returning seven All-Conference selections from 2022 including Isaac Stouffer (Punxsutawney, PA/Punxsutawney) and Jeff Zick (Moon, PA/Our Lady of Sacred Heart). Stouffer was named to the 2023 Collegiate Baseball Magazine "Player to Watch" after earning NCAA Division III All-Region honors and First Team All-Conference honors last season. He carried a slash line of .364/.451/.662 while driving in a team-high 41 runs. Stouffer's mark in RBIs (41) placed him third in the conference as his .662 slugging percentage ranked second. He also hit 12 doubles, nine home runs and three triples.

Zick was also named to the 2023 Collegiate Baseball Magazine "Player to Watch". The right-handed pitcher earned Second Team All-Conference in 2022 after leading the AMCC in ERA at 2.08. Zick allowed just 35 hits in 43.1 innings of work, while compiling 46 total strikeouts to just 15 walks. He finished fifth in the conference in strikeouts per nine innings with a 9.72.

The Lions will open play on the road at Centre on Saturday, February 25 at 11:30 a.m. followed by a neutral-site game against Dominican. Behrend will finish the weekend with another single game against Centre on Sunday at 12 p.m.