| Jan.. 31, 2006
Contact: Carlos Valdez III. (210) 458-4930 UTSA Baseball Picked Fifth In Southland Conference Pre-Season Polls PLANO - The UTSA baseball team was picked to finish fifth in the 2006 Southland Conference Pre-Season polls as voted by the coaches and sports information directors, released by the conference office.
UTSA is the Southland's latest automatic bid recipient to the NCAA Tournament after sweeping through the 2005 SLC Tournament with a 4-0 record. The Roadrunners were the No. 4 seed and made a remarkable turnaround after starting the season 0-11 in non-conference action in 2005.
UTSA is led by preseason first-team All-SLC pick Ryan Saltzgaber (right), who returns for his junior season at third base. Second-baseman J.R. Voyles and pitcher Steven Vasquez are second-team picks for the Roadrunners. Northwestern, which has won nine regular-season SLC titles in the last 15 years, posted a 41-20 record in advancing to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection in 2005. The Demons produced a 22-5 record in league play
to win the conference. Northwestern tallied eight first-place votes from the head coaches while Lamar got the other three. Nine of the 11 SIDs voted the Demons No. 1 while Lamar took the other two votes.
SFA returns to the diamond after a 10-year hiatus. Donnie Watson was hired
as head coach and the Lumberjacks kick things off Feb. 3 at home with a 2
p.m. game against Arkansas-Little Rock.
Back for Northwestern head coach Mitch Gaspard are preseason first-team
All-SLC seniors Bobby Barbier and Brandon Morgan at first and second base,
respectively. Also returning are first-team sophomore pitchers Derek Cloeren
and Kyle Broughton. Second-team preseason selections for the Demons include
seniors Marty DeWees and Michael Palermo at catcher and outfielder.
Lamar landed five preseason All-SLC picks with All-American catcher Michael
Ambort being the lone first-teamer. The junior from Rockville Centre, N.Y.,
was named the SLC's Hitter of the Year as a sophomore after hitting .336
with 18 home runs and 65 runs batted in, leading the league in the latter
two categories.
Lamar's second-team picks include Colt Crawford at shortstop, Collin Delome
in the outfield and pitchers Steve MacFarland and William Delage.
Rounding out the preseason All-SLC first-team infield is McNeese State's
Bryan Cartie at shortstop. The sophomore from Meadows Place, Texas, hit .348 as a freshman to finish sixth in the league. Cartie is joined by teammate
Taylor Faul, also a sophomore, on the first team who hit .339 as an
outfielder.
The other two first-team outfield spots belong to James Bennett of
Louisiana-Monroe and Ryan Spencer of Southeastern Louisiana.
Sam Houston State players occupy the final two slots on the preseason first
team with juniors Karl Krailo (designated hitter) and Jesse Marshall
(pitcher) taking honors.
Returning players who were named All-SLC following the 2005 season were
automatically placed on the 2006 preseason teams. Open positions were filled
by a vote of the league's head coaches.
The preseason prognosticators see the race for third through sixth the same
as the coaches and SID each pick Texas State third, Texas-Arlington fourth,
Texas-San Antonio fifth and Sam Houston State in the sixth spot. The head
coaches take Louisiana-Monroe for seventh with McNeese placing eighth,
Southeastern Louisiana in ninth, Nicholls State is 10th and Stephen F.
Austin 11th.
UTSA opens its 2006 season on road against Houston on Feb. 7 in Cougar Field, first pitch slated at 2 p.m.
2006 Southland Conference Baseball Preseason Polls
Coaches Poll
1. Northwestern State (8) 98
2. Lamar (3) 92
3. Texas State 78
4. Texas-Arlington 68
5. Texas-San Antonio 58
6. Sam Houston State 54
7. Louisiana-Monroe 50
8. McNeese State 37
9. Southeastern Louisiana 36
10. Nicholls State 19
11. Stephen F. Austin 15
SIDs Poll
1. Northwestern State (9) 119
2. Lamar (2) 111
3. Texas State 94
4. Texas-Arlington 85
5. Texas-San Antonio 75
6. Sam Houston State 57
7. Southeastern Louisiana 53
8. Louisiana-Monroe 47
9. McNeese State 46
10. Nicholls State 23
11. Stephen F. Austin 16
2006 All-Southland Conference Baseball Preseason Teams
FIRST TEAM
1B Bobby Barbier Northwestern State Sr. Lafayette, La.
2B Brandon Morgan Northwestern State Sr. Dallas, Texas
3B Ryan Saltzgaber Texas-San Antonio Jr. Abilene, Texas
SS Bryan Cartie McNeese State So. Meadows Place, Texas
C Michael Ambort Lamar Jr. Rockville Centre, N.Y.
OF Ryan Spencer Southeastern Louisiana Sr. Covington, La.
OF James Bennett Louisiana-Monroe Sr. Humble, Texas
OF Taylor Faul McNeese State So. Lake Charles, La.
DH Karl Krailo Sam Houston State Jr. Houston, Texas
P Derek Cloeren Northwestern State So. Orange, Texas
P Kyle Broughton Northwestern State So. Shreveport, La.
P Jesse Marshall Sam Houston State Jr. Montgomery, Texas
SECOND TEAM
1B Kyle Jones Texas State Jr. Houston, Texas
2B J.R. Voyles Texas-San Antonio Sr. Tomball, Texas
3B Beau Knowles McNeese State So. Lake Charles, La.
SS Colt Crawford Lamar Sr. Alvin, Texas
C Marty DeWees Northwestern State Sr. Alexandria, La.
OF Dustin Martin Sam Houston State Sr. Burnet, Texas
OF Michael Palermo Northwestern State Sr. Baton Rouge, La.
OF Collin Delome Lamar So. Buna, Texas
DH Nick Buck McNeese State Jr. Denton, Texas
P Steven Vasquez Texas-San Antonio Jr. Beeville, Texas
P Steve MacFarland Lamar Jr. Marlboro, N.Y.
P William Delage Lamar Sr. Nederland, Texas
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