Senior infielder Andres Nelo
photo by Lee University
Senior pitcher Dustin Lawson
photo by Lee University
Pull out the heavy jackets and put on the gloves and head gear. The Lee Flames will officially open the 2015 baseball season
on Friday afternoon at
3 p.m., hosting Emmanuel College in the first game of a three-game series. A doubleheader will follow
on Saturday, beginning at
1 p.m.
The contests were originally scheduled for Sunday and Monday, but were pushed forward when predictions of mixed precipitation were announced.
While plans for the upcoming baseball season are being finalized, a Gulf South Conference release shows five teams ranked in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) South Region Poll, while 12 standouts were also honored as All-Region selections.
Last year's GSC Tournament Champions, Alabama Huntsville, paced the GSC with a No.
2 ranking. Delta State came in at No. 5, followed by No. 6 West Florida, No. 9 Lee and No. 10 Valdosta State. Receiving votes was West Alabama, with six.
Lee senior pitcher Dustin Lawson and senior infielder Andres Nelo were named to the NCBWA Preseason All-South Region Teams. Making the first team were DSU's Jonathan Moody, UWF's Sean Plunkett, VSU's Bryant Hayman and the 2014 GSC Player of the Year, UWA's Mitch Holgate. Landing on the second team were UAH's Tyler Howell, UWF's Walker O'Connor, VSU's Mike Reed, Lee's Lawson and Nelo and UWA's Tyler Rainey and Jack Cockrum. In all, UWA paced the selections with three, while DSU, VSU, Lee and UWF all turned in two each. UAH rounded out the honorees with one.
2015 NCBWA Division II South Region Preseason Poll
1. Tampa
2. Alabama Huntsville
3. Florida Southern
4. Lynn
5. Delta State
6. West Florida
7. Saint Leo
8. Nova Southeastern
9. Lee
10. Valdosta State
2015 NCBWA Division II Preseason All-South Region (First Team)
SP - Jimmy Gutowski, Eckerd
SP - David Heintz, Tampa
SP - Jonathan Moody, DSU
SP - Trey Oest, Tampa
RP - Bill Mendek, Lynn
C - Austin Tindall, Tampa
1B - Alex DeBellis, Lynn
2B - Alex Fernandez, Nova Southeastern
3B - Dylan Harris, Saint Leo
SS - Fernando Tanaka, Stillman
OF - Stephen Dezzi, Tampa
OF - Sean Plunkett, UWF
OF - Nick Perez, Saint Leo
DH - Bryant Hayman, VSU
DH - Mitch Holgate, UWA
2015 NCBWA Division II Preseason All-South Region (Second Team)
SP - Tyler Howell, UAH
SP - Dustin Lawson, Lee
SP - Walker O'Connor, UWF
SP - Scotty Ward, Florida Tech
RP - Tyler Rainey, UWA
C - Jack Cockrum, UWA
1B - Grant McKown, Florida Tech
2B - Andres Nelo, Lee
3B - Paul Winterbottom, Stillman
SS - Mike Reed, VSU
OF - Dominic Brugnoni, Florida Southern
OF - Will Robertson, DSU
OF - Michael Urdaneta, Nova Southeastern