BASEBALL COACHES EXPECT LA ROCHE TO ONCE AGAIN FINISH AT THE TOP

Six-time AMCC baseball champion, La Roche College, is once again expected to defend their league title, according to league coaches. Penn State Behrend is likely to take the second spot, while 2018 runner-up Pitt-Greensburg is expected to round out the top three.
 
Pitt-Bradford senior catcher Austin Parent is the 2019 AMCC Preseason Player of the Year. Parent earned 2018 D3Baseball and ABCA First Team All-America honors after being named the 2018 AMCC Player of the Year. The senior from Gilbert, AZ was named a 2019 D3Baseball Preseason First Team All-America honoree after leading the nation last year with a .496 batting average and .616 on-base percentage. His batting average and on-base percentage led all three NCAA Divisions. His .496 batting average is the second-best in AMCC history. His 34 walks were the most in the conference, while his 48 RBIs, 109 total bases, and 17 doubles were all second-best in the conference. Parent finished the season with an 18-game hitting streak and reached base safely in each of the last 20 games of the season.

La Roche junior pitcher Tre Thomas is the 2019 AMCC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Thomas was the only underclassmen starting pitcher to be named an All-American in 2018. In addition to being an All-American, he was All-Region, AMCC Pitcher of the Year, AMCC All-Conference First Team, AMCC All-Tournament Team, and a two-time AMCC Pitcher of the Week recipient. Thomas went 9-1 with a 1.47 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 61.1 innings. He led the AMCC in wins and ERA and also ranked 16th and 18th nationally in each category. In the NCAA Regional, he allowed just one run and four hits over 6.2 innings to beat Ithaca 5-1.

The AMCC tournament will begin with first round play on May 4-5, followed by the championship round May 9-11 at the site of the number one seed.  The winner will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Click here for complete preseason rankings and players to watch.