Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324
2023 Collegiate Baseball DIII Preseason Poll
Dec. 22, 2022 - In the first preseason poll of the 2023 season, the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper ranks the North Central College baseball team 29th in their 40-team poll, the organization announced on Wednesday.
The Cardinals won their seventh straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Title a season ago on their way to a 35-14 overall record and a 14-4 CCIW record. After securing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, North Central used a walk-off grand slam off the bat of Jack Oberli in their first tournament game before defeating the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in game two to advance to the Regional Championship. There, the Pointers won back-to-back games and ended up representing the region in the DIII World Series.
The 2022 team set program single-season records for runs scored (426), hits (558), runs batted in (386), and strikeouts thrown (430). Their 35 wins tie the 1991 squad for the second-most wins in school history.
Salisbury University comes in at No. 1 with LaGrange College, Trinity University, Birmingham-Southern College, and Chapman University rounding out the top five. The Cardinals are the lone CCIW school to appear in the rankings.
North Central will begin its 2023 campaign in late February with an official schedule to be released at a later date.
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