Linfield Picked to Win NWC Baseball Crown

George Fox, which won or shared five straight NWC titles from 2002 - 2006, is second in the poll with 71 points.

Linfield pitcher Brian Clark had 83 strikeouts in 2007. Photo courtesy: Linfield Athletics

McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Linfield, under new head coach Scott Brosius, is a near unanimous choice to win the 2008 Northwest Conference baseball title, according to the NWC coaches preseason poll.

The Wildcats picked up eight out of nine first-place votes to total 88 out of 90 possible poll points.

Linfield returns three first team all-Northwest Conference selections from 2007: outfielder Kevin Mills (Sr., Tigard, Ore.), designated hitter Stew Davis (Jr., Spokane, Wash.), and starting pitcher Brian Clark (Sr., Bellevue, Wash.). Linfield is aiming to return to the top of the standings for the first time since 2005.

George Fox, which won or shared five straight NWC titles from 2002 - 2006, is second in the poll with 71 points. The Bruins will welome back all-NWC catcher Ryan Fobert and all-NWC second baseman Pat Bailey.

Pacific Lutheran, which won its first-ever NWC baseball title last spring, is third in the poll with 61 points and the remaining first-place vote. The Lutes were hit hard by graduation, including 2007 NWC Pitcher of the Year Joe DiPietro, but return all-NWC catcher Brandon Sales and all-NWC first baseman Jordan Post.

Whitworth is fourth with 56 points. The Pirates return second team all-NWC catcher Dan Ramsey and starting pitcher Chad Flett.

Puget Sound (38 points) and Willamette (35) follow in fifth and sixth place, respectively. The Loggers welcome back all-NWC shortstop Tim Steggall, while the Bearats return outfielder Colin Young.

Pacific was seventh in the poll with 30 points, while Lewis & Clark was eighth with 24 points. Kyle Barksdale returns as a second team all-NWC relief pitcher for the Boxers, while the Pioneers will look to infielder Jordan Shibata.

Whitman rounds out the poll in ninth place with 11 points.

The first games of the season are scheduled to get underway this weekend with Whitman visiting Occidental, Whitworth at College of Idaho and Puget Sound hosting Corban.

Linfield leads off its season Feb. 16 when the Wildcats host Concordia of Portland.

For the first time, the NWC will use a four-game series format for conference games. The first weekend of NWC contests is scheduled for March 1-2.

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