BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Following an unfinished 2020 season, the Campbellsville University baseball team has been picked to finish in third place in the Mid-South Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll released by conference officials Friday afternoon.
The Tigers received 84 total voting points in the poll while earning a single first-place vote to land in their third place spot. Just ahead of CU is University of the Cumberlands (93) and newcomer Freed-Hardeman (89) as the Patriots earned the most first-place of any team with five and the Lions had four first place vote.
Campbellsville ended the shortened season at 13-8 overall while earning a single win in their only conference series against Cumberlands at HIG Field last March. Every player on the 2020 Tigers retained their eligibility for the 2021 season due to the stoppage, however, CU still experienced some roster turnover from season to season.
The pitching staff returns
Alexander Salazar who finished 2020 with a 1.76 ERA in a team-high 30.2 innings pitched with a team-high 50 strikeouts. The CU staff also returns
Aaron Hutchinson,
Deshawn Welch,
Brady Tedesco,
Jesse Davis, and
Trestyn DuMilieu.
Position players back for 2021 include infielders,
Tommy Sepulveda,
Colton Titus, and
Cale Thompson, outfielders
Skyler Vail,
Tyler Cox, and
Grant McQueary, and catcher Eddie Arteaga. Thompson and Titus topped the CU leaderboard for batting average in 2020 with Thompson at .362 and Titus at .358 with Arteaga and Cox leading the team in extra base hits with six and seven respectively.
The full MSC Preseason Coaches' Poll is below:
| 2021 Mid-South Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Pos. |
Team |
Points (First-Place Votes) |
| 1. |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
93 (5) |
| 2. |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
89 (4) |
| 3. |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
84 (1) |
| 4. |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
69 |
| 5. |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
63 (1) |
| 6. |
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
56 |
| 7. |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
52 |
| 8. |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
31 |
| 9. |
Pikeville (Ky.) |
30 |
| 10. |
Shawnee State (Ohio) |
19 |
| 11. |
Thomas More (Ky.) |
18 |
Tiger baseball will open up their season on Thursday, Feb. 11 when they start the NAIA Southeast Rumble in Waleska Ga. against Tennessee Wesleyan.
