Webster University men's baseball team, the defending St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season champs, was picked as the pre-season favorite in the 2010 SLIAC Baseball Coaches' Pre-Season Poll. The Gorloks, who posted a perfect 24-0 record in conference play, received seven of eight first place votes. The women's softball team has been picked to finish second in the SLIAC in the 2010 SLIAC Softball Coaches' Pre-season Poll.
Men's baseball returns a veteran squad that includes senior center fielder
Dakota Huey (SR, Highland HS, IL) and senior right-handed pitcher
Will Savage (Benet Academy, IL). Huey was a First Team All-SLIAC selection in 2009, after earning Second Team honors in 2008. He led the Gorloks last season with a .398 batting average, while posting a team-high 64 hits and 18 doubles. Savage was 6-3 last year and had a 4.85 ERA in 59.1 innings pitched. He was also a First Team All-SLIAC honoree. Sophomore, and 2009 SLIAC Newcomer of the Year, Joe Biagini also returns for Webster. He hit .368 last year with a team-high 63 RBI, 14 home runs, and nine doubles.
The women's softball team, 11-3 in the SLIAC and 26-18 overall, received three first-place votes in the poll and ranked second overall. The Gorloks are the defending SLIAC Tournament Champions and finished in a three-way tie for the regular season title last season. Returning for the Gorloks are outfielder
Cassie Mosier (SR, LeRoy HS, IL), pitcher/outfielder
Megan Sperry (SR, Clarkston HS, MI), and first baseman
Sam Dittmann (SR, St. Pius X HS, STL).
Mosier, a First Team All-SLIAC selection in 2009, batted .318 with 47 hits. Sperry earned Second Team All-SLIAC honors at pitcher, finishing the season with a 14-6 record and an 1.43 ERA in 127.2 innings. She also hit .327 with 51 hits. Dittmann tallied 19 RBI last year and recorded 88 putouts on defense, playing multiple positions.
Both teams opened the season in Florida, facing competition from the Midwest, Northeast, and South regions. The men's baseball team finished the trip at 3-2 and the women's softball team finished 3-5. both teams had games cancelled due to rain. The two polls are listed below:
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2010 SLIAC Baseball
Pre-Season Coaches' Poll
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Rank
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Team (First Place Votes)
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1
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Webster (7)
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2
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Fontbonne (1)
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3
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Greenville
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4
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Westminster
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5
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Blackburn
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6
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Spalding
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7
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Principia
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8
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Eureka
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9
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MacMurray
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2010 SLIAC Softball
Pre-Season Coaches' Poll
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Rank
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Team (First Place Votes)
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1
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Fontbonne (5)
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2
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Webster (3)
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3
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Greenville
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4
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Westminster
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5
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Spalding
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6
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Eureka
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7
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Blackburn
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8
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MacMurray
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9
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Principia
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