HAVERFORD, Pa. – With the results of the Centennial Conference preseason coaches poll released earlier today, the Haverford College baseball team ranked sixth based on votes from coaches in the conference. The Fords tallied 37 voting points and one-first place vote.
Reigning Centennial Conference champion Johns Hopkins came in first with 78 points and six first-place votes while Franklin & Marshall followed with 70 points and three first-place votes. In third place, McDaniel gathered 58 points. Just behind McDaniel was Gettysburg with 52 points and Ursinus with 51. Following Haverford was Dickinson (36), Washington College (32), and Muhlenberg and Swarthmore (tied with 18).
In head coach Dave Beccaria's 16th year at the position, Haverford has qualified for the conference tournament in nine of the previous 10 seasons. That stretch includes two championships in the past four seasons. Haverford went 15-20 a season ago. That record included one win at the Centennial Conference Tournament over top-seeded Johns Hopkins in 2015.
Junior second baseman Ben Verducci headlines the list of returning players for the 2016 season. Verducci will build upon an impressive sophomore season in which he was among the conference leaders in batting average, hitting at a .376 clip. He was also named All-Centennial Conference Second Team.
Haverford is set to kick off the 2016 season during the week of spring break, beginning with a doubleheader against Dominican University (Ill.) on March 6.