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RINDGE, N.H. (February 23, 2017) – Nine months removed from laying claim to the 2016 NCAA Championship East Regional title, the Franklin Pierce University baseball team opens its season this weekend with five games at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Ravens will open defense of their East Region title -- and their first season under first-year interim head coach Mike Chambers '06 -- ranked No. 7/12 nationally, as well as second in the most-recent East Region poll. The following is a roundup of preseason polls and awards, as well as some perspective on the upcoming campaign.

The Ravens (48-9 in 2016) check in inside the top 15 of both major national polls, as they rank seventh in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll and 12th in the first weekly National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll of the season. Their ranking in the latter is down three spots from a No. 9 preseason ranking, though the team has yet to play a game. In the unofficial, but nationally-publicized, Perfect Game USA Division II rankings, Franklin Pierce sits 14th in the first weekly rankings of the year, with no movement since it was picked 14th in the preseason as well.

"We are excited to get the season going," said coach Chambers. "The coaching staff has worked extremely hard to keep up the level of expectation and work ethic with these guys. This team is tremendously talented and features strong leadership... We expect big things from this group."

Defending national champion Nova Southeastern (44-16) checks in at the top spot in both polls, and the Sharks collected 12 of 16 available first-place votes in the NCBWA poll.

The two polls vary widely from there, even with regards to who should be in the top five. In the Collegiate Baseball poll, which is voted on by the nation's coaches, Tampa (41-10) follows at No. 2, Central Missouri (43-15) in third, Southern New Hampshire (50-7) in fourth and Millersville (53-7) in fifth. Meanwhile, in the NCBWA poll, voted on by Athletic Communication personal and media members across the country, it is Central Missouri second, South Carolina Aiken (40-18) in third, Angelo State (39-22) in fourth and Millersville rounding out the top five.

Curiously, Franklin Pierce appears behind their in-state rival, the Penmen of SNHU, in both polls, despite finishing 2016 ranked above SNHU and defeating the Penmen for the East Region title. The coaches of the Northeast-10 Conference agreed with the national assessment, as SNHU picked up 12 of 15 available first-place votes to be selected as the Northeast Division's preseason favorite, leaving Franklin Pierce -- the five-time defending division champion -- with the remaining three first-place votes and a second-place pick.

On the other side of the ledger, in the NE10's Southwest Division, Adelphi, Pace and Le Moyne split 14 of the first-place votes in a 5-5-4 fashion to be picked first, second and third, respectively, with only four points separating the three. Inexplicably, in what is likely a show of petty politicking, the remaining first-place vote in the Southwest went to American International, which was picked, by a wide margin, seventh and last in the division.

The first NCBWA weekly East Region poll of the season sees no changes from the preseason poll, with SNHU first, followed by Franklin Pierce, St. Thomas Aquinas, Felician, Molloy and Bridgeport in second through sixth, respectively. Each of the top six teams were qualifiers for the NCAA East Regional a year ago.

The NCBWA also selects preseason All-America and All-Region teams. Junior right-hander Anthony Matarazzo (Medford, Mass.) was selected to the preseason All-America Second Team, while graduate student right-hander Tanner Bird (Adams, Mass.) landed on the preseason All-America Third Team. Both were also selected to the preseason All-East Region First Team, where they were joined by senior outfielder Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.).

For Franklin Pierce, the quest for an eighth regional crown begins on Thursday evening in Myrtle Beach, as they square off with Felician, which finished 34-21 a year ago on the way to its East Regional berth. Junior right-hander John Amendola (Wallingford, Conn.) has been tabbed as the opening day starter for the crimson and grey. Amendola fired seven innings of three-run ball and struck out a season-best 10 as just a sophomore in the decisive game of last year's East Regional, picking up the win as the Ravens clinched the title.

"I'm excited to get the season started," said Amendola. "We have a great group of guys who have worked hard throughout the fall and winter, and I'm excited to see where the team will go this season."

For now, at least, Amendola will be followed in the rotation by Bird, junior right-hander Dylan Dennis (Wakefield, Mass.), senior right-hander Cody McPartland (Sound Beach, N.Y.) and sophomore right-hander Zach Hart (Wallingford, Conn.), as the Ravens look to showcase what is expected to be one of the country's strongest pitching staff.

Bird wore many hats out of the bullpen for the Ravens a year ago, on the way to a pair of All-America selections, while McPartland represents the biggest coup of the offseason for Franklin Pierce. An All-East Coast Conference First Team selection at Dowling a year ago, McPartland shined brightest at the NCAA East Regional at Franklin Pierce last May, as he fired a six-hit shutout against second-seeded SNHU on the opening day of the tournament. With Dowling College ceasing operations over the offseason, McPartland has relocated to Rindge to join the Ravens for his senior campaign.

The staff goes even deeper, as Matarazzo, a consensus All-East Region selection a year ago, will start the season out of the bullpen. Meanwhile, senior right-hander Miles Sheehan (Madison, Conn.), an All-America selection in 2015, and junior right-hander Mike Lundin (Kingston, Mass.), an All-Region pick two springs ago, are both expected to return to the Ravens' rotation at some point in 2017.

"I'm excited to see the success this team can find after all the hard work we have put in since September," said Bird, one of the team's four captains. "We have the most depth I've seen in my years at Pierce. I truly think this team has the ability to do something this program has never done before."

If there are question marks for the Ravens, they come on offense, as Franklin Pierce either graduated, or lost to the draft, six of the nine members of its starting lineup, including two-time East Region and NE10 Player of the Year Jay Jabs. LaVorgna leads the returning bats, after earning consensus All-East Region honors a year ago, including First Team honors from the Conference Commissioners Association. Infielder Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) also returns for his senior season, after hitting .306/.473/.398 a year ago and ultimately picking up All-Championship Team honors at the East Regional.

"It's exciting that it's that time of year again," said LaVorgna, another of the team's captains. "The dynamic of the team this year is going to be very different than the past two years here. We virtually had the same individuals within our lineup in the last two years and there are a lot of new pieces to gel together. I'm anxious and excited to see what we're made of this year."

Still, the Ravens will need to fill holes throughout their lineup, and the opening weekend should go a long way towards telling just how successfully those holes were filled. Among the reinforcements expected to play significant roles are junior outfielder Tim Going (Islip, N.Y.), who came over from Dowling with McPartland, and junior Dalton Davis (Birmingham, Ala.), a hulking, 6-foot-5, 245-pound first baseman who transferred in from Newberry College in South Carolina.

Among other incoming transfers are a pair of players who immediately slot into the starting lineup alongside Going and Davis. Senior shortstop Lucas Luopa (Keene, N.H.) joins the Ravens from Eckerd College and will bat out of the leadoff hole to open the season. Senior Zack Tower (Auburn, Mass.) will join Going in a Franklin Pierce outfield full of new faces, after transferring in from Division I UMass Lowell.

After taking on Felician to open the season on Thursday, the Ravens will square off with Queens (N.Y.) for a doubleheader on Friday, before single games against Wilmington (Del.) on Saturday and LIU Post on Sunday, before heading for home. Overall, Franklin Pierce opens the season with nine straight games against East Region foes, before also mixing in non-region games against Slippery Rock, Saint Augustine's, Mount Olive and Wingate on the team's spring break trip to Cary, N.C. Except for Molloy and defunct Dowling, the Ravens will face off with each of last season's East Regional participants at least once in 2017.

The crimson and grey are slated to open their 29-game NE10 schedule with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 25 at Le Moyne. Three dates with the rival Penmen highlight the league slate, as the two sides will meet in Manchester, N.H. on April 4 and April 18, before a possibly-pivotal showdown in Rindge on May 2, during the final week of the regular season.

As for the postseason, the first round of the Northeast-10 Championship is on the schedule for Tuesday, May 9, followed by championship weekend on May 11-13, this season to be hosted by the Southwest Division. The NCAA East Regional follows on May 18-22, to be hosted by the region's highest seed which can provide a lighted field. The winner of the East Regional will represent the region at the NCAA Championship National Finals, which has a new home this year. The National Finals are scheduled for May 27-June 3 at The Ballpark in Grand Prairie, located in Grand Prairie, Texas, and will be hosted by Angelo State.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce baseball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).