2010 Rock Baseball Schedule

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- Slippery Rock University, in voting by the division's head coaches, nipped defending division champion Mercyhurst to earn the role of "team to beat" in 2010 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division baseball competition, the conference office announced Friday.

The Rock's margin over Mercyhurst in the preseason voting was one point, according to conference media relations director Matt Beltz.

SRU, led by 25-year head coach Jeff Messer, returns five everyday starters and two of its starting pitchers from the 2009 team that compiled a 36-15 overall record and finished third in PSAC-West competition.

The list of returning players includes three National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason All-America selections: Senior pitcher Vince Lloyd, senior second baseman Billy Messer and senior left fielder/designated hitter Jacob Oswalt.

Four PSAC-West teams earned first-place votes in the preseason poll of division head coaches. The Rock, California and Indiana each earned two No. 1 votes while Mercyhurst was the top pick of one coach.

Following The Rock and Mercyhurst in the predicted order of finish for this spring's division competition were California, Indiana, Lock Haven, Clarion and Gannon in descending order.

Kutztown nipped defending conference and regional champion West Chester by a one-point margin to earn the "team-to-beat" label in PSAC-Eastern Division competition, Beltz said.

Picked to finish third through seventh in the PSAC-East race were Shippensburg, East Stroudsburg Millersville, Mansfield and Bloomsburg, respectively.

Kutztown and West Chester each earned three first-place votes in the preseason poll of PSAC-East coaches while Mansfield picked up one No. 1 vote.

The Rock, which will play each of its PSAC-West foes four times this spring, is scheduled to play only one PSAC-East team during regular-season competition. SRU travels to Mansfield for a March 28 doubleheader.

In light of the PSAC coaches' preseason poll, it's interesting to note that West Chester and Mercyhurst were ranked 1-2 in the NCBWA Division II Atlantic Regional preseason poll released last Monday, followed by Kutztown and SRU in third and fourth places, respectively.,

The Rock is scheduled to open its 2010 season Feb. 20 with a doubleheader vs. Tiffin (Ohio) University at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

SRU's home opener is scheduled for March 16, when Washington Adventist (formerly Columbia Union College) will invade Jack Critchfield Park for a 1 p.m. non-conference doubleheader.