Columbus State Selected as Baseball Preseason Favorite

AUGUSTA, GA -- The Columbus State Cougars have been selected as the Peach Belt Conference baseball team to beat in 2008 according to a poll of the league’s head coaches released on Thursday. CSU received six of a possible nine first-place votes in the poll and finished with 77 points, 13 ahead of second-place GCSU. North Georgia was selected third and USC Aiken fourth. Francis Marion, Armstrong Atlantic State, Augusta State, UNC Pembroke, Lander and Georgia Southwestern rounded out the voting.

Columbus State is coming off a remarkable 2007 season that saw the team advance all the way to the national championship game where they fell to Tampa. Ranked #2 in the nation to begin the 2008 campaign, the Cougars return their entire outfield from last year, including All-Conference slugger Rodney Rutherford who led the PBC with 14 home runs a year ago. However, CSU will have to replace their entire starting infield, who were all seniors. On the mound, All-Conference starter Anthony Arrington and All-Region starter Korey Noles are back along with reliever Blake Norrell.

GCSU’s biggest change will their head coach. Chris Calciano departed for the Boston Red Sox and former assistant Tom Carty steps in to take over the Bobcats after they captured the 2007 PBC Championship with a 23-7 league record. The Bobcats lost 12 starters from that team, but do return All-Conference reliever Michael Newman and catcher Pete Paris.

North Georgia finished fourth in the PBC in only their second year in the league with a 17-13 conference record. Head coach Tom Cantrell was rewarded as the PBC Coach of the Year and outfielder Craig Brisson was named the Freshman of the Year. The Saints will welcome back six position starters from last year’s team and seven pitchers including senior Chris Curtis who led the staff with a 7-3 record and 2.33 ERA.

The 2008 coaches poll is listed below. Teams were given nine points for a first-place vote, eight for a second and so on. Coaches were not allowed to rank their own teams.

The 2008 season begins on Feb. 1 with conference play beginning Feb. 23 and continuing on to the PBC Tournament which will be held May 8-11 at Roberto Hernandez Stadium in Aiken, S.C., and hosted by USC Aiken.

To see a team-by-team preview of the 2008 season, click here. 

2008 Baseball Preseason Poll