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DENVER - (Feb. 8) Seattle University baseball is the preseason favorite to win the 2017 Western Athletic Conference title, announced Wednesday following a vote of the league’s nine head coaches. Junior lefty Nick Meservey was selected as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year and five total Redhawks were named to the Preseason ALl-WAC Team.
The Redhawks, who earned the 2016 WAC regular-season title with a 21-6 league mark, received four first place votes to finish atop the 2017 preseason poll with 60 points. NM State was selected second, earning one first place vote and 52 points overall. Sacramento State picked up two first place votes for 47 points, edging out Grand Canyon by one point for third as the Lopes earned 46 points. Utah Valley was selected fifth as the 2016 tournament champions finished with 43 points. CSU Bakersfield was sixth, followed by UT Rio Grande Valley, Northern Colorado and Chicago State.
Sean Sutton, Griffin Andreychuk, Tarik Skubal and Connor Moore joined Meservery on the Preseason All-WAC Team, which totaled 14 members.
Meservey, the reigning WAC Pitcher of the Year, finished 2016 with a 7-2 overall record and 2.32 ERA. In 15 starts with 16 total appearances he had 79 strikeouts (in 81.1 innings), one save, two combined shutouts.
Sutton, a first team All-WAC selection in 2016, returns for his junior season. The Couer d’Alene, Idaho, native hit .337 a year ago and was second on the team with 69 hits, including 13 doubles, one triple and two home runs. He knocked in 32 RBIs and had a .998 fielding percentage at first base.
Andreychuck, one of just three seniors on the squad, hit for a .293 average last spring. The shortstop collected 63 hits, including eight doubles, three triples and two home runs, while scoring 43 runs and batting in 36.
Another lefty in the Redhawks’ pitching rotation, Skubal went 6-1 in eight starts last spring. The now junior led Seattle U with a 2.11 ERA. He fanned 50 in 42.2 innings and held opponents to a .208 batting average.
Moore gives the Redhawks three pitchers on the Preseason All-WAC squad. The senior made 30 appearances in relief in 2016, going a perfect 4-0 with four saves, two combined shutouts, a 2.84 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 44.1 innings.
The Redhawks open the 2017 slate at home at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue, Wash., hosting SIUE in a four-game series beginning Friday, Feb. 17.
2017 Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll
Rank Team (1st Place Votes), Points
1. Seattle U (4), 60
2. NM State (1), 52
3. Sacramento State (2), 47
4. Grand Canyon, 46
5. Utah Valley (2), 43
6. CSU Bakersfield, 25
7. UT Rio Grande Valley, 24
8. Northern Colorado, 19
9. Chicago State, 8
2017 Preseason All-WAC Team
Catcher: Mason Fishback, Jr., NM State
First Base: Sean Sutton, Jr., Seattle U
Second Base: David Metzgar, Sr., CSU Bakersfield
Third Base: Trey Stine, Sr., NM State
Shortstop: Griffin Andreychuk, Sr., Seattle U
Outfield: Garrison Schwartz, Jr., Grand Canyon
Outfield: Austin Botello, Sr., NM State
Outfield: Jose Garcia, Sr., UT Rio Grande Valley
Starting Pitcher: Nick Meservey, Jr., Seattle U
Starting Pitcher: Kyle Bradish, So., NM State
Starting Pitcher: Tarik Skubal, Jr., Seattle U
Relief Pitcher: Connor Moore, Sr., Seattle U
At-Large: Zach Malis, So., Grand Canyon
At-Large: Max Carter, Sr., CSU Bakersfield