Feb. 18, 2009

With the baseball season just days from starting, Southeastern Baseball has named the George Mason Patriots as the team to beat in the Colonial Athletic Association while College Baseball Insider has named outfielder Scott Krieger Preseason Second-Team All-American and first baseman Justin Bour as preseason honorable mention All-American.

Mason opens the season on Friday in Spartanburg, S.C. against USC-Upstate. The Patriots were picked to finish second in the conference by the CAA coaches but SEBaseball.com thinks the Patriots will take the top spot. Krieger was their choice for CAA Preseason Player of the Year while Bour and starting pitcher Dan Gerjets joined him on the preseason first-team. Ryan Soares, starter Kevin Crum and closer Jordan Flasher were named preseason second-team.

The Mason pitching staff was picked tops in the conference by SEBaseball while Mason was chosen as the best power squad and the team with the second-best infield. Krieger and Bour were named the top 1-2 punch at the plate while Gerjets and Crum were the third-best 1-2 punch on the mound. Crum, a transfer from VMI, was their pick for top newcomer. SE Baseball also put together a list of the top 100 teams in the region and George Mason was picked 27th, one spot ahead of James Madison and just behind Virginia, Tulane and Mississippi State.

Krieger and Bour were the only CAA players chosen to College Baseball Insider's preseason All-America teams. There were 21 players on the first team and second teams (10 hitters, 11 pitchers) while 52 players were named honorable mention.

Read GoMason.com on Thursday for a preview of the 2009 George Mason baseball season.