Coaches Vote Rams Baseball To Finish Fourth in Conference

The Framingham State University baseball team has been slated to finish fourth and the Worcester State Lancers have been selected to win the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Championship as voted on by the league’s coaches.

Worcester State, the 2014 MASCAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions earned four first place votes and 44 points. Last season Worcester State went 11-3 in MASCAC action.

Under the direction of reigning Champion’s Choice Coach of the Year Dirk Baker, the Lancers return several key players from last year’s squad, including All-Conference honorees Dave Ruggiero and Ben Libuda. Ruggiero, the 2014 MASCAC Tournament MVP, finished last season with a .381 batting average with 53 hits, including nine doubles and five triples, while Libuda netted a 3.20 earned run average and 37 strikeouts.

Coming in second with two first place votes for a total of 43 points is Salem State.

Westfield State landed in third with one first place vote for a total of 34 points.

Earning the final first place vote in fourth place is Framingham State with 31 points. The Rams were 8-6 in conference play last season. They return MASCAC Co-Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-Conference selection Mike Andrews, who led the conference with an earned run average of 1.25 and was second in wins with seven and two shutouts.

Massachusetts Maritime is next in fifth place with 23 points.

Up next in the sixth slot is Bridgewater State with 22 points.

Rounding out the poll is Fitchburg State with 19 points and MCLA with nine points in seventh and eighth, respectively.

The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, the nation’s oldest Division III men’s and women’s playing conference, has a rich and storied tradition of competitive success while celebrating excellence in the classroom. MASCAC member schools include Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, MCLA, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Salem State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University.

Release courtesy of MASCAC Media Relations