RICHMOND, Va. - The Colonial Athletic
Association released its 2012 baseball preseason poll on Thursday afternoon and
George Mason was picked to finish sixth in the 11-member conference.
James Madison, which claimed the CAA
title a season ago, was picked to win the conference title again this season
after collecting five first-place votes and 94 points. UNCW garnered two
first-place votes and was close behind in second with 88 points. Old Dominion
was chosen third with two first-place tallies and 76 points, while Georgia
State also got two first-place votes and was fourth with 74 points. VCU placed
fifth in the voting, followed by George Mason, Delaware, William and Mary, Towson,
Hofstra and Northeastern.
The Patriots are looking to rebound
from the 2011 season where they finished with an overall record of 21-32-1 and
finished eleventh in the CAA with a record of 7-23.
Mason returns all three All-CAA
honorees from a season ago in second teamers junior second baseman Chris Cook
and senior utility Brig Tison. Also returning is sophomore third baseman Blaise
Fernandez, who was tabbed to the All-Rookie Team last year.
Cook hit .340 on the season, third on the team, and had 13
doubles, four homers, 29 RBI and six steals. He had a .459 on-base percentage,
seventh-best in the CAA, and he was hit by 26 pitches, a new school record and
tied for the second-highest total in school history. He was also named to the
Virginia College Sports Information Directors University Division First-Team
All-State accolades.
Tison led the nation in hits for most of the season and was just
the fifth player in school history to compile more than 90 hits in a season. He
put together a school-record 27-game hitting streak and he led the team in
batting averages and steals. Tison hit .368, fourth-best in the CAA, with 16
doubles, three triples, 42 RBI and eight steals and he set a new school record
for at-bats in a season with 247.
Fernandez started 46 games as a freshman and batted in the middle
of the order for most of the season. Hitting in the third, fourth and fifth
spots, he batted .277 with 17 doubles, three triples and three home runs. He
led the team in doubles and triples and was third on the team in extra-base
hits. He had 38 RBI and 29 runs scored while slugging .441. He had 25 walks,
fourth-most on the team.
The Patriots take to the diamond for the first time on February
17, taking part in the Elon University Tournament.
2012 CAA BASEBALL PRESEASON PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. James Madison (5 first-place votes), 95 pts.
2. UNCW (2 first-place votes), 88
3. Old Dominion (2 first-place votes), 76
4. Georgia State (2 first-place votes), 74
5. VCU, 63
6. George Mason, 46
t7. Delaware, 44
t7. William and Mary, 44
9. Towson, 30
10. Hofstra, 27
11. Northeastern, 19
