Baseball | 1/27/2023 11:18:00 AM

ROME, Ga. The Methodist baseball team received 43 points – including one first-place vote – in the 2023 USA South Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, the league office announced on Thursday. The Monarchs finished six points shy of N.C. Wesleyan University, who totaled 49 points with seven first-place votes.
 
Rounding out the top half of the poll was third-ranked William Peace University with 35 points and fourth-ranked Pfeiffer University with 29 points. The USA South's Preseason Poll is voted on by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to include their own team on their ballot.
 
Last season, N.C. Wesleyan and Methodist finished first and second respectively in the USA South's East Division. The teams will face off at the end of April this season, serving as both team's final regular-season series heading into the conference tournament.
 
The Monarchs return 22 players from last year's roster and will play their first 16 games at home this season, starting with a three-game series against Alma College Feb. 11-12, followed by three-straight weekends of invitationals at Armstrong-Shelley Field.