Greenville, S.C.-- The Furman Paladins are a consensus seventh place selection according to a pair of Southern Conference preseason polls released today.

Defending Southern Conference Tournament champion Western Carolina has been picked to win the 2004 SoCon baseball regular season title in voting by the league’s coaches, while UNC Greensboro was chosen to win by the sports information directors.

In the coaches’ poll, the Spartans garnered five first-place votes while second place Western Carolina earned four.  Third-place Georgia Southern and fourth-place The Citadel each received one first place vote.  SoCon newcomer Elon was selected by the coaches to finish in fifth place, closely followed by College of Charleston in sixth, Furman in seventh, and East Tennessee State in eighth.  Davidson was tabbed to finish ninth while Appalachian State and Wofford were predicted to finish in a tie for tenth place.

Western Carolina received six first place votes in the SIDs’ poll, three more than second place UNC Greensboro.  The Citadel and Georgia Southern each grabbed one first place vote while being selected to finish in third and fourth places respectively.  College of Charleston was selected to finish fifth, Elon sixth, and the Paladins seventh.  Following the Paladins in the predictions were Davidson and East Tennessee State who tied for eighth place.  Rounding out the poll were Appalachian State and Wofford in tenth and eleventh places, respectively.

Furman returns six position players and one starting pitcher off last year’s squad that went a school record 32-24 overall with wins over Clemson, South Carolina, and N.C. State. The Paladins also finished in a tie for fourth place in the conference with a 17-13 mark.

Senior right-handed pitcher Kyle Funk (7-3, 5.28 ERA) will anchor Furman’s pitching staff along with senior Calvin Hurst (0-1, 2.70 ERA) and sophomore David Mitchell (3-3, 1.12 ERA), who was named to the 2003 All-Southern Conference first team as a relief pitcher.

In the infield, second team All-Conference selection Derek Norman (.309, 4 HR, 38 RBI) returns behind the plate while Dominic Franchini (.324, 4 HR, 46 RBI) returns at first base. A.J. Davidiuk (.268, 1 HR, 21 RBI) and Matthew Betsill (.250, 1 HR, 17 RBI) return at shortstop and third base, repectively. At second base, Craig Caudill (.274, 26 RBI) will move from the outfield and see some time at second base for the departed Clint Hill.

The Paladins return a strong outfield as well with sophomore Andrew Greene (.310, 11 RBI) playing in centerfield, Sam McLain (.324, 3 HR, 32 RBI) in left field, and Nick Wajda (.273, 10 RBI) in right field.

Furman opens the 2003 season on February 14 with a double-header against High Point.