NEWTON, Mass. – The Lasell College baseball team was selected fourth in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league office Friday afternoon.
The Lasers gathered 38 points in the preseason poll, just behind Johnson & Wales who garnered 49 points. Saint Joseph's College of Maine received two first-place votes and 56 points to finish second, and three-time defending GNAC champion Suffolk University earned six first-place votes and 62 overall points to top the poll.
Lasell returns two GNAC All-Conference student-athletes in senior first baseman Dom Mascolo (Waterbury, Conn.) and junior third baseman Andre Marchesseault (Cheshire, Conn.)
A Second Team All-GNAC selection, Mascolo finished his junior campaign with a conference third-best .386 average, tallying four home runs and 21 RBI. He slugged a team-best .663 with an impressive .475 on-base percentage. Marchesseault played in all 32 games last spring for the Lasers hitting .345 including 24 RBI. The Third Team All-GNAC third baseman connected 38 times included six doubles, a triple, and a home run posting a .425 on-base percentage.
The Lasers open up 2018 on the road against UMass Boston on Friday, March 2, with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at Mohan Park. Lasell will hit the road for Spring Break, highlighted by a double header on Sunday March 11 versus St. Mary's (Md.) and winding up at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. on Saturday March 17.
On Saturday March 24 the Lasers will host future GNAC foe Colby-Sawyer College in doubleheader action in the home opener. Lasell plays its home games at Stein Diamond on the campus of Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. (unless otherwise noted).
The 2018 GNAC Tournament will get underway with opening games on Tuesday, May 1 at the four highest seeds. Additional games are set for Thursday, May 3 with the championship weekend slated for Saturday-Sunday, May 5-6, at Saint Joseph's College of Maine. The GNAC Tournament champion receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.
2018 GNAC Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Suffolk (6) - 62
2. Saint Joseph's, Maine (2) - 56
3. Johnson & Wales - 49
4. Lasell - 38
5. Albertus Magnus - 30
6. Rivier - 21
7. Norwich - 19
8. Anna Maria - 13
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