Patriots named to pre-season Collegiate Baseball honor list

Three Francis Marion University baseball players have been named to Collegiate Baseball Magazine's 2009 pre-season honor roll.

Senior catcher Jared Barkdoll was named to the pre-season All-America squad, while senior right-handed pitcher David Walters was among those chosen as "Players to Watch" from the Southeast Region and junior shortstop and pitcher Barrett Kleinknecht was among those chosen as "Newcomers to Watch" from the Southeast Region.

Barkdoll, a native of Greencastle, Pa., was an All-Region and All-Peach Belt Conference pick last season while hitting .362 with seven home runs and 50 runs batted in.  Walters, a native of River Hill, Md., posted a 9-4 record last year with a 4.66 earned run average.  He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 47th round of last year's draft, but chose to return to school for his senior year.  Kleinknecht is a hometown product from Florence and a graduate of West Florence High School.  He transferred from Florence-Darlington Technical College.

The Patriots will host the annual South Atlantic Challenge this weekend with three games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at noon, 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. each day.

Collegiate Baseball DII Preseason All-Americans from the Southeast Region

Dan Ford - 3B - Sr. - Lenoir-Rhyne

Chas Anthony - 2B - Jr. - Erskine

Bryan Fogle - OF - Jr. - Erskine

Mike Moore - RHP - Sr. - Erskine

Boo Morrow - RHP - Sr. - Tusculum

Raymond Ruggles - RHP - Sr. - Tusculum

Jared Barkdoll - C - Sr. - Francis Marion

Alex Vertcnik - C/OF - Sr. - Mount Olive

Shannon Wilkerson - OF - Jr. - Augusta State

Ryan Kirkman - RHP - Sr. - UNC Pembroke

Josh Wilson - OF - Jr. - Armstrong Atlantic

Blake Ketner - P - Sr. - Catawba

Jarrett Coker - P - Sr. - Columbus State

Danny Davidson - P - Sr. - Columbus State

Mike Dobre - C - Sr. - Mars Hill

Collegiate Baseball DII Preseason "Players To Watch" from the Southeast Region

Michael Raymond - Sr. - RHP - Belmont Abbey

Casio Grider - Sr. - SS - Newberry

Zach Glass - Sr. - 1B - Lenoir-Rhyne

Kyle Norris - Sr. - C - St. Andrews

Aaron Hudgins - Sr. - SS - Tusculum

David Walters - Sr. - RHP - Francis Marion

Mills Rogers - Jr. - SS - Carson-Newman

Ken Raborn - Sr. - 1B/3B - USC Aiken

Sean Harrell - Jr. - OF - GCSU

Anders Oster - Sr. - SS - North Georgia

Atlee Pearson - Soph. - RHP - Erskine

Zach Whitman - Jr. - LHP - Georgia Southwestern

Rich Racobaldo - 3B - Sr. - Mount Olive

Tim Rawlings - Sr. - OF - Augusta State

Kevin Dietrich - OF - Sr. - UNC Pembroke

A.J. Nunziato - SS - Soph. - Lander

Kenny Cail - 1B - Sr. - Armstrong Atlantic

Chris Ahearn - Sr. - SS - Catawba

Nick Siega-Riz - OF - Sr. - Wingate

Brian Gordon - Sr. - C - Columbus State

Jonathan McDaniel - Soph. - RHP - Pfeiffer

Brian Williams - Sr. - OF - Mars Hill

Collegiate Baseball DII Preseason "Newcomers to Watch" from the Southeast Region

Nate Cudney - LHP - Fr. - Belmont Abbey

Jim Pollack - C - Jr. - Newberry

Max Loveland - Jr. - CF/P - Lenoir-Rhyne

Samson Williams - Jr. - OF - St. Andrews

Jared Richmond - Jr. - OF - Tusculum

Barrett Kleinknecht - Jr. - SS/P - Francis Marion

Antonio Nickel - Fr. - C - Carson-Newman

Jeremy Smith - Jr. - RHP - USC Aiken

Steve Muolo - Jr. - 3B - GCSU

Jordan Erisman - Fr. - OF - North Georgia

Jarrett Miller - Fr. - RHP - Erskine

Chris Lingham - Jr. - OF - Georgia Southwestern

Will Rodriguez - Jr. - 1B - Mount Olive

Dillon Roark - Jr. - RHP - Augusta State

Matt McGovern - Jr. - RHP - UNC Pembroke

Darrin Tew - Jr. - LHP - Lander

Alex Wyche - Jr. - OF - Armstrong Atlantic

Trevor Mullins - Jr. - P - Catawba

Jacob Karr - Fr. - 3B/RHP - Wingate

Alex Montes - Jr. - OF - Columbus State

Myles Pearl - Jr. - OF - Pfeiffer

Mike Kitt - Jr. - INF - Mars Hill