Jan. 28, 2013

STANFORD, Calif. - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) preseason poll was released Monday, with Stanford tabbed seventh among the nation's Division I baseball programs. The Cardinal was one of six Pac-12 Conference baseball teams ranked among the NCBWA's top 25, and one of four to crack the top 10.

The NCBWA ranking follows suit with a number of favorable projections for the Cardinal, joining ESPN/USA Today (7th), Collegiate Baseball (9th), Perfect Game (4th) and Baseball America (9th) as pundits to rank Stanford among its respective preseason top 10.

Stanford will be steered this season by ace Mark Appel, who was selected as the eighth overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft and opted to return to The Farm for his senior season. Appel posted a 10-2 record last season and led the Pac-12 with 130 strikeouts.

The Cardinal opens the 2013 season with a three-game series at Rice (Feb. 15-17).

Follow @StanfordBSB on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates and news throughout the season and go behind the scenes at facebook.com/StanfordBaseball

Tickets for all home games can be purchased by calling 1.800.STANFORD.

Visit GoStanford.com for Cardinal features, game recaps, scores, stats and photos.

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