Red Raider Baseball Ranked at No. 39 in College Baseball Preseason Poll

Jan. 4, 2007

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The defending PSAC champion Shippensburg University baseball team, led by second-year head coach Matt Jones, has been ranked at No. 39 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason Poll released on December 26.

In addition, junior pitcher Matt Wright (McClure/Mid-West) and senior outfielder Justin Garber (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown) were both selected as preseason all-americans while junior outfielder Tyler Redick (Fairfield/Walkersville [Md.]) was a "player to watch" and freshman Steve McCardell (West Chester/Henderson) is a "newcomer to watch."

Wright and Garber were two of only five players to be named preseason all-americans from the North Atlantic Region.

Shippensburg finished with a 28-24 overall record last season en route to its first PSAC championship since 2003 and its first NCAA North Atlantic Region Championship appearance since 2004.

In addition to the team’s preseason ranking, seven teams on Shippensburg’s 2008 schedule are also ranked, including Tampa who is ranked No. 1. The Red Raiders open the season with three games at No. 6-ranked Mount Olive before traveling to No. 14 Georgia College & State for three games March 1-2.

As far as teams from the PSAC on Shippensburg’s schedule who are ranked, West Chester is at No. 22, followed by No. 26 California (Pa.), No. 30 Slippery Rock and No. 37 Kutztown.

The Red Raiders return 17 players from last year’s team, highlighted by the return of Wright who was named PSAC Western Division Pitcher of the Year and North Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Year and Second Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) in 2007.

Wright led the PSAC in strikeouts with 99 last season which was also the third-highest single-season total in school history. He had a 6-3 record with one save and a 2.08 ERA while making 11 starts, totaling 78.0 innings and six complete games.

Garber is a four-time all-region selection who received first team accolades by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Daktronics, Inc., last season. He finished 2007 with a team-best .358 batting average while leading the team with 41 RBIs, 39 runs, 24 stolen bases and five triples. His five triples were the most in the PSAC and his 24 steals were second.

Redick was an All-PSAC Western Division Second Team and NCBWA honorable mention all-region selection last season after leading the team with 67 hits and 42 runs. He was also second on the team with a .351 batting average and was one of only two players to start all 52 of the team’s games.

In addition, Redick was tied for the team lead with eight doubles while adding three triples, three home runs and 24 RBIs.

McCardell joins the Red Raiders for his first season in 2008 after a stellar playing career as a shortstop and first baseman at Henderson High School in West Chester. He is expected to compete for the starting job at first base, replacing graduated senior Scott Goss.

Steve is the brother of former Kutztown standout Mike McCardell who was the 212th overall pick by the Minnesota Twins in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. Mike was also the 2006 PSAC Eastern Division Pitcher of the Year and a two-time All-PSAC Eastern Division First Team selection.

The Red Raiders open the 2008 season on February 16 with a doubleheader at Mount Olive beginning at Noon.

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