Columbus State Favored to Win PBC Baseball Title

AUGUSTA, GA -- The Columbus State Cougars have been selected the preseason favorite to capture the 2009 Peach Belt Conference baseball championship in a poll of the league’s head coaches released on Tuesday. The Cougars received seven of a possible nine first-place votes for 77 total points, six ahead of second-place North Georgia. USC Aiken is third followed by GCSU and Francis Marion. Armstrong Atlantic State, UNC Pembroke, Augusta State, Lander and Georgia Southwestern rounded out the voting.

Columbus State won their first PBC regular-season championship since 1996 last season with a 19-8 conference record and hope to become the first team to defend their title since North Florida in 2004-05. The Cougars lost National Pitcher of the Year Korey Noles and Rodney Rutherford, who tied a PBC record with 26 home runs last year, to the major leagues, but do return six position starters and the starting pitching duo of Danny Davidson and Anthony Arrington, both of whom were ranked in the top five in the conference in ERA last year.

North Georgia won their first PBC Tournament title last year as the #4 seed and are second in the preseason poll. The Saints return 20 players from last year’s team including eight pitchers and five position starters including All-Conference outfielder Craig Brisson and PBC Tournament MVP Logan Sharrett.

USC Aiken reached the finals of the NCAA South Atlantic Regional in 2008 before falling to eventual national champion Mt. Olive. The Pacers, 47-17 overall a year ago, lose only one starter from last year, but that starter was PBC Player of the Year Chad Jacobsen. Among the returners are All-Conference second baseman Ken Raborn and leadoff hitter Cody McMorris.

The 2009 preseason coaches poll is listed below. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams. A team-by-team preview of the 2009 season can be found here.

The season begins for most teams on Feb. 1 with conference play beginning on Feb. 21 and continuing on to the PBC Tournament May 9-10 in Aiken, S.C. The tournament format has changed for 2009; instead of the top six teams competing in a double-elimination tournament, the top eight teams will gather for a two-day, single-elimination tournament at Roberto Hernandez Stadium.

2009 Baseball Preseason Poll