LANCASTER, Pa. – The Ursinus College baseball team was picked fifth in the Centennial Conference preseason poll announced this morning by the league office. The Bears received 51 points in a vote conducted by the league's head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own teams.

Defending champion Johns Hopkins received six first-place votes and 78 total points to top the preseason projections, with Franklin & Marshall garnering three first-place tallies and 70 points. McDaniel was picked third with 58 points, followed by Gettysburg (52), Ursinus (51), Haverford 37, 1 first-place vote), Dickinson (36), Washington College (32), Muhlenberg (18), and Swarthmore (18).

Expectations have been elevated for the Bears after finishing the 2015 campaign 18-15 overall (7-11 CC), the team's best record since 2009. Ursinus returns a trio of all-conference performers in senior first baseman Christopher Jablonski, senior pitcher Sean Pisik, and junior outfielder Timo Muro.

A first-team selection, Jablonski led the CC with eight home runs and added a team-best 25 RBI a year ago, ranking fourth on the team with a .318 average. Twenty-one of his 35 hits went for extra bases, and Jablonski compiled a .424 on-base percentage. He made just one error in 287 changes at first base, assisting on 23 double plays.

Pisik was fifth in the conference with a 2.28 ERA, going 5-1 with 47 strikeouts (8^th CC) over 47.1 innings. His four complete games were tied for the league lead, and Pisik surrendered just five walks.

Muro, a Centennial Conference All-Academic selection, topped the Bear offense with a .336 average and 42 hits. He stroked a team-high 16 doubles and collected 16 RBI.

Ursinus returns the vast majority of its lineup from last year. Junior Kieran Geyer hit .333 with five doubles and six RBI, and classmate Vincent Terry hit at a .305 clip with seven RBI. Fellow junior CJ Diana drove in 11 and tied for the team lead with seven stolen bases.

In the outfield, sophomore Travis Kozak logged a .292 average with 11 RBI, and junior Austin Kurey provided six doubles, a triple, and 13 RBI. Junior Jose Colon swiped seven bags to go with four doubles and seven RBI on a .263 average.

The rotation will be bolstered by the return of junior Connor Moriarty, who went 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA over eight games and four starts last season. Sophomore Pierce Greenleaf (1-2, 4.20 ERA), junior Seth Regensburg (3-3, 5.36 ERA), and senior Vince Piccioni (3-3, 5.02 ERA) are all back in the fold after combining for 18 starts in 2015.

The Bears open the 2016 season on Saturday, February 27 with a twin bill against Widener at Maplezone Sports Institute.

2016 Centennial Conference Preseason Poll