BELTON, Texas – University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Baseball has been picked to finish second in the American Southwest Conference Preseason Poll, released Friday.
East Texas Baptist topped the poll with 30 points and seven first-place votes. UMHB and Hardin-Simmons tied for third with each team earning 20 points. The Cru also tallied one first-place vote in the poll. Howard Payne was picked to finish fourth, totaling ten points.
Riley Bender,
Tyler Betts and
Easton Cline were all named to the ASC Players to Watch List.
Riley Bender, a graduate student from Kingwood, was a D3baseball.com and ABCA All-Region selection last season. He also earned first Team All-ASC honors, hitting .365 with team-highs in hits (54) and doubles (19). Bender added 37 runs with two triples and nine home runs.
Tyler Betts, a senior outfielder from Round Rock, was a Second Team All-ASC honoree. Betts hit .346 last season, totaling 36 hits with 22 runs scored. He added five doubles and 15 RBI, fielding .967 with 29 putouts.
Easton Cline, a junior infielder from Mesa, was a Second Team All-ASC honoree. He hit .312 last season with 44 hits and 33 runs scored. Cline also tallied 22 RBI and 19 stolen bases. As an infielder, he recorded 64 putouts with 74 assists and 14 double plays.
UMHB opens play on February 6
th in a three-game series against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at Red Murff Field in Belton.
