Baseball Picked to Finish Sixth in NEC Poll

2/23/07 --The Long Island University baseball team was selected to finish sixth in a poll of Northeast Conference head coaches. The Blackbirds, along with Wagner, tied for the sixth-place position in the eight-team league. Central Connecticut State was picked as the preseason favorite to finish first in the NEC.

Head coach Don Maines' squad finished 13-33-1 last season with a 10-13 conference record. The key returnee for the Blackbirds is senior righthander Mike Maynard (Staten Island, N.Y.), who was nearly unhittable in NEC play with a perfect 5-0 record and a 1.80 earned run average, the second best mark in the conference. A top offensive threat for Long Island is senior third baseman Robbie Rowen (Rosendale, N.Y.), who hit .296 with a team-high 24 RBIs.

Long Island opens its schedule on Feb. 23 with a pair of games, taking on both Eastern Kentucky and Oakland (Ill.).