Owls Picked 2nd in LEC Preseason Poll

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. 2/4/10 - The Keene State College baseball team has been picked to finish second in the 2010 Little East Conference preseason poll as voted on by the coaches. The Owls grabbed one first place vote and 54 points, while the Eastern Conn. State Warriors received the other seven first place votes and 63 points.

Ken Howe led Keene State College to the program's fourth consecutive season with at least 25 victories in 2009, sporting an overall record of 25-16 and an 8-6 mark in the Little East. The Owls entered the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed and advanced to the championship round before falling to the Warriors. Keene State featured a potent batting order last spring with seven student-athletes hitting over .350 to sit atop the conference team standings in batting average (.370), on-base percentage (.449), slugging percentage (.588), and triples (25), while ranking second in total bases (891).

The Owls are projected to boast another outstanding lineup with the return of four All-Little East players, including 2009 All-America and 2010 preseason All-America outfielder Bobby Doyon (Keene, N.H.). Doyon had a team high 168 at-bats, 13 home-runs, 72 RBI's and a .798 slugging percentage. ECAC Rookie of the Year Cody Callahan (Seekonk, Mass.) returns to the lineup after batting .455 with nine home-runs and 56 RBI's in his first season. Also returning to the team after receiving All-Little East honors in 2009 is catcher Anthony Cipolla (Glastonbury, Conn.) and third baseman Keith Patnode (Keene, N.H.). Cipolla grabbed 1st Team All-LEC Honors by batting .368 with three home-runs and 31 RBI's his junior season and committed only two errors the whole season as the team's starting catcher. Patnode was awarded 2nd Team All-LEC honors after batting .408 in 2009. The local product also smacked nine homers and 45 RBI's for the Owls.

Keene State begins its season in Arizona with a doubleheader against the College of New Jersey on March 13.