Baseball | 1/29/2014 4:15:00 PM

WEST REGION PRESEASON TEAMS

AUSTIN, Texas – The Western Oregon University baseball team was ranked ninth in the NCBWA NCAA Div. II West Region Preseason Poll, and Daniel McNabb, Tim Rausch and Spenser Watkins were named to region's preseason teams Wednesday.

The Wolves, who were picked as preseason favorites to defend their 12-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, received 18 points in the inaugural regional poll of 2014. Top-ranked Chico State received 50 points and three of the six first place votes. Cal State-Monterey Bay followed closely behind with 48 points and two first place votes. The Wolves were the lone GNAC team in the poll.

McNabb was named First Team designated hitter. McNabb posted a conference-leading .376 batting average as a junior designated hitter in 2013. Rausch was named to the region's First Team outfield. The junior finished with a team-high .552 slugging percentage, four home runs and 38 RBI a season ago. He was named Second Team All-GNAC last season as well. Watkins, who was named to the region's Second Team as a pitcher, led the GNAC with eight wins while posting a solid 3.19 ERA in 84 2/3 innings of work.

Western Oregon opens its season at the region's second-ranked team, Cal State-Monterey Bay, Saturday. The Wolves square off with CSUMB in a four-game series over a three-day span, beginning with Saturday's doubleheader at 11 a.m. All four games will have live stats on WOUWolves.com.

West Region

RK	School -First-Place Votes-	W-L (2013)	Pts.	Prev.
1	Chico State (Calif.) -3-	37-18	50	2
2	Cal. St.-Monterey Bay -2-	39-17	48	1
3	Cal. St.-LA -1-	35-22	42	3
4	Sonoma State (Calif.)	36-22	41	5
5	Dixie State (Utah)	32-17	35	4
6	California Baptist	43-18	30	9
7	Cal. St.-East Bay	32-18	24	7
8	Cal. Poly Pomona	26-24	23	RV
9	Western Oregon	34-20	18	8
10	UC San Diego	26-24	15	RV

Also receiving votes: Point Loma Nazarene, Calif. (26-24) 3 points; Hawaii Pacific (30-20) 1 point.