Central Islip, N.Y. - With two first place votes and 43 total points, the Molloy College Lions have been selected as the ECC baseball preseason favorite in 2012. Senior first baseman Eric Schlitter (Guilford, Conn.) of the University of Bridgeport is the Preseason Player of the Year, while senior Chuck Fontana (Staten Island, N.Y.) from Molloy has earned the coaches’ pick as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

The Lions return six starting position players and their top three starting pitchers from last season’s squad that put together the program’s second straight 30 win season. Molloy also took home the 2011 ECC regular season championship with a 22-8 mark in conference play.  

Dowling grabbed two first place votes and St. Thomas Aquinas also received one to amass 34 points to tie for the No. 2 spot on the poll. Last season, Dowling won the ECC Championship and advanced to their fourth NCAA East Regional in six years.  St. Thomas Aquinas finished 2011 with a 26-25-1 record to make their fourth straight appearance in the ECC Baseball Championship. Last season’s ECC runner-up, the University of Bridgeport, received the final two first place votes to come in just behind Dowling and St. Thomas Aquinas in fourth place with 33 points.

Bridgeport senior first baseman Eric Schlitter has been selected as the 2012 Preseason Player of the Year.  A ECC All-Conference Second Team selection in 2011, Schlitter is coming off a season in which he hit .344 and finished second in the conference with 40 RBI. He also finished in the top five in the ECC in doubles (13), total bases (73), on-base percentage (.453), and slugging percentage (.474).  

Chuck Fontana of Molloy has been tabbed the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.  Fontana put together an outstanding campaign in 2011 that saw him earn the ECC Pitcher of the Year award. In 12 appearances, all starts, he posted a 9-1 record with a 1.69 earned run average. He also struck out 108 batters across 85.0 innings to lead the conference in both categories. He also ranked tenth nationally in strikeouts per game and thirteenth in total strikeouts. His outstanding season saw him earn many accolades including being named to the Daktronics All-America Third Team as well as the NCBWA, Daktronics, and ABCA/Rawlings All-Region squads.

2012 East Coast Conference Preseason Poll

() - First place votes received

Preseason Player of the Year:  Eric Schlitter, Sr., 1B, Bridgeport
Preseason Pitcher of the Year:  Chuck Fontana, Sr., Molloy