FOREST, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Baseball Team has been picked to finish ninth out of 11 teams in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play this season according to the league's 11 head coaches.

The Wasps had a breakout year in 2012, winning a school-record 11 league games and reaching the ODAC Tournament for the first time since 1999. 

For their efforts, four players were named to the All-ODAC teams. Second baseman Josh McMillian (Amelia, Va.) and outfielder Remington Hedgepeth (Winston-Salem, N.C.) were picked as first-teamers while catcher Collin Metz (Cape Coral, Fla.) and first baseman Logan Ball (Honaker, Va.) were selected to the All-ODAC Second and Third Teams, respectively.

Head Coach Trey McCall was named ODAC Coach of the Year, the third time an E&H mentor has earned the honor and the first time since Dewey Lusk won the award in 1998.

The top three places were separated by just two points in the voting as Bridgewater College got 94 points and four first-place votes. Last year's champion, Lynchburg College, earned 91 votes and four top nods. ODAC newcomer and perennial regional contender, Shenandoah University, took home the final three first-place votes and 90 points for third place.

Emory & Henry returns 14 letterwinners from last season's squad including senior centerfielder Eric Houff (Blacksburg, Va.) and senior pitchers Jessup Lambert (Fries, Va.) and Will Dingus (Powhatan, Va.).

Houff hit .309 a year ago with 23 RBI, 10 doubles and 18 walks. He registered a .428 slugging percentage and 16 multi-hit games.

Lambert pitched a team-high 73 innings last year, and won three of his last four outings, including key victories over Lynchburg (Apr. 14) and Guilford (Apr. 21) that earned the Wasps the number three seed in the ODAC Tournament. He struck out 47 compared to 32 walks with a 6.78 ERA.

Dingus led the Wasps with four saves and earned a pair of ODAC wins over Roanoke (Mar. 30) and Guilford (Apr. 21). He struck out 23 and walked 19 en route to a 5.98 ERA.

Emory & Henry has 20 newcomers including a trio of junior college transfers. Transfer catcher Connor Wise (Cookeville, Tenn.) and second baseman Jordan Woullard (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) will break into the lineup immediately, while freshmen Chase Kirk (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Andrew Stockstill (Roanoke, Va.) should see time in the field.

Freshman pitchers Ty Hill (Knoxville, Tenn.), Austin Collins (Morristown, Tenn.), Josh Adams (Smyrna, Tenn.) and Matthew McInaw (Honey Brook, Pa.) will all be counted on both for starts and in relief during the 2013 campaign.

E&H will open the season on Saturday when it travels to Rocky Mount, N.C. for a three-game series with North Carolina Wesleyan College. The Wasps will meet the Battling Bishops on the diamond twice on Saturday at 11:00 a.m., with the rubber match set for Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

The first home game is set for Wednesday, February 27 when Emory & Henry will host Maryville (Tenn.) College at Porterfield/DeVault Field at 2:00 p.m.

2013 ODAC BASEBALL
PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
(#) denotes first place votes

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