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Furman Baseball Picked Seventh, Eighth In Pair Of SoCon Polls; Muzika Earns Preseason Tab
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman's baseball team has been picked to finish seventh and eighth in a pair of Southern Conference preseason polls of head coaches and media, the league announced today.
In addition, Paladin senior Will Muzika was named to the coaches preseason All-SoCon second team as an outfielder.
Furman returns 23 lettermen, six position starters, and two of its three weekend starting pitchers off last year's squad, which posted a 28-31 record and eighth place SoCon finish.
Muzika, a Spartanburg native and former Dorman High School standout, hit .284 with three home runs and 33 RBI a year ago, serving primarily as the Paladins' starting second baseman before making a late season move to the outfield. A three-year starter, he was the league's freshman of the year in 2010 and is a career .295 hitter with 22 home runs and 117 RBI.
The Paladins open the season next Friday, Feb. 15 against Michigan State in a 5:00 p.m. game at Fluor Field in downtown Greenville, part of the First Pitch Invitational.
Furman and the Greenville Drive, the single A South Atlantic League affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, will host this year's SoCon Tournament (May 22-15) at Fluor Field.
2013 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Place Team (1st-place votes) Points
1. Elon (5) 93
2. Western Carolina (3) 88
3. College of Charleston (3) 87
4. Samford 65
5. Georgia Southern 64
6. Appalachian State 61
7. FURMAN 42
8. The Citadel 39
9. UNCG 37
10. Wofford 16
11. Davidson 13
2013 Preseason Southern Conference Media Poll
Place Team (1st-place votes) Points
1. College of Charleston (10) 195
2. Elon (4) 185
3. Samford (3) 152
4. Appalachian State (1) 143
5. Georgia Southern 142
6. Western Carolina 139
7. The Citadel 87
8. FURMAN 74
9. UNCG 73
10. Wofford 41
11. Davidson 23
2013 Preseason All-Southern Conference
Preseason Player of the Year
Phillip Ervin, Jr., OF, Samford
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Matt Pegler, Sr., RHP, College of Charleston
First Team
SP Matt Pegler, College of Charleston
SP Dylan Clark, Elon
RP Preston Hatcher, Western Carolina
C Alex Swim, Elon
1B Ryan Kinsella, Elon
2B Hector Crespo, Appalachian State
SS Will Callaway, Appalachian State
3B Trevor Edwards, UNCG
OF Tyler Zupcic, Appalachian State
OF Brandon Murray, College of Charleston
OF Phillip Ervin, Samford
DH C.K. Irby, Samford
Second Team
SP C.K. Irby, Samford
SP Brandon Yarusi, Wofford
RP Nate Young, Elon
C Chase Griffin, Georgia Southern
1B Tyler White, Western Carolina
2B Zeth Stone, Samford
SS Aaron Attaway, Western Carolina
3B Bradley Goodson, College of Charleston
OF Will Muzika, Furman
OF Scooter Williams, Georgia Southern
OF Julian Ridings, Western Carolina
DH Jacob Hoyle, Western Carolina
