Date: February 26, 2003
Contact: Brian Laubscher (540) 458-8676
Release: Upon Receipt

W&L BASEBALL PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH IN ODAC
2002 Champ Bridgewater Tabbed No. 1

Junior pitcher Peter Dean

LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Washington and Lee baseball team has been ranked fifth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll which was released on Wednesday.

Defending ODAC champ Bridgewater collected six first-place votes and sits atop the poll, followed by Virginia Wesleyan (1 first-place vote), Guilford (1 first-place vote), Lynchburg and W&L. Rounding out the poll are Eastern Mennonite, Hampden-Sydney (1 first-place vote), Emory & Henry and Randolph-Macon in a tie for eighth, and Roanoke.

The Generals went 18-5-1 overall last season, 6-9-1 in the ODAC.

Senior shortstop Michael Hanson (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) and junior pitcher Peter Dean (Vienna, Va./James Madison), both of whom were First Team All-ODAC and Second Team All-South Region selections last season, head W&L's returnees. Hanson hit .364 with 15 RBI and 43 runs a year ago, while Dean went 6-3 with a 2.12 ERA in a team-high 80.2 innings.

The Generals, whose 2003 record stands at 2-1, are in action again on Saturday afternoon (12:00 pm) when they travel to Emory & Henry for a doubleheader.

--GENERALS--