RICHARDSON – For the 13th consecutive season, Abilene Christian has been chosen as the favorite to win the Lone Star Conference baseball title as the preseason polls were announced by league officials on Tuesday.
The 2011 season starts in early February and the LSC has 13 teams set to compete with the addition of Incarnate Word. LSC teams will play an 11-week, single round-robin schedule with a three-game series against every other team. Each series shall consist of a 9-inning game and a 7- and 9-inning doubleheader.
The regular season champion will be the team(s) with the best winning percentage in conference games, while the winner of the postseason championship shall be the overall LSC Champion. The championship will be played May 7-10 in Abilene, Texas.
ACU, the two-time defending LSC champions, was a near unanimous selection, receiving 29 of the 32 first-place votes on the ballots cast by LSC coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives for 401 total points. The Wildcats – who finished 50-15 last season to record the first 50-win season in program history – fell to Central Missouri in the NCAA Division II South Central Region championship game.
The Wildcats
Aaron Oliver was named the LSC Preseason Player of the Year.
Oliver, a senior outfielder from Los Angeles, Calif., recorded one of the most prolific seasons in ACU history earning South Central Region Player of the Year and first team all-America honors in 2010. He hit .405 and led the team in hits (102), runs scored (79), doubles (22), triples (eight), home runs (14), RBI (65), total bases (182) and stolen bases (27) to earn LSC Player of the Year, LSC Championship MVP and regional all-tournament team honors.
Southeastern Oklahoma's Heath Wyatt was tabbed LSC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Wyatt, a senior relief pitcher from Searcy, Ark., was the co-national leader and topped the LSC with 15 saves last year in a school record 33 appearances. He posted a 3.17 ERA, second best in the league, for a 7-6 record to earn LSC Pitcher of the Year acclaim along with first team all-South Central Region by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and second team all-region by the American Baseball Coaches Association
SE totaled 320 points to finish a second in the voting with one first-place nod after a 32-21 overall and 27-14 LSC campaign last season. Angelo State was third with 305 points, while Cameron was fourth 293 and UIW fifth 264.
Tarleton State finished sixth with 256 points, while Texas A&M-Kingsville was seventh with 243 and one first-place vote. West Texas A&M (193), Central Oklahoma (143), Eastern New Mexico (141), Northeastern State (113), Southwestern Oklahoma (108) and East Central (41) rounded out the poll.
Here's a closer look at the voting breakdown for the conference:
Rank LSC BASEBALL 1st TOTAL
1. Abilene Christian 29 401
2. Southeastern Oklahoma 1 320
3. Angelo State 305
4. Cameron 293
5. Incarnate Word 264
6. Tarleton State 256
7. Texas A&M-Kingsville 1 243
8. West Texas A&M 193
9. Central Oklahoma 143
10. Eastern New Mexico 141
11. Northeastern State 113
12. Southwestern Oklahoma 108
13. East Central 41
