Coaches Pick Lutes to Win Conference Baseball Title
Pacific Lutheran University received six of nine possible first-place votes to finish atop the 2010 Northwest Conference baseball coaches preseason poll, in what is expected to be another competive race among the top three finishers from last season.
The Lutes, who tied for the 2009 NWC title with George Fox University, sit atop the poll with 84 total points. PLU will be led by 2009 NWC Pitcher of the Year Robert Bleeker, who returns for his senior season. Fellow Lute seniors Trey Watt, Ben Shively and Josh Takayoshi are returning First Team All-Conference honorees. Bleeker and Watt should give PLU a formidable 1-2 punch as starting pitchers.
Linfield College picked up two first-place votes and totaled 72 total poll points. George Fox defeated PLU in last season's one-game playoff and advanced to the NCAA DIII tournament for the eighth time. The Bruins had the final first-place vote and 67 points in the poll.
