AUGUSTA, Ga. | Young Harris College has been selected to finish in second place in the Peach Belt Conference in a poll of the league's baseball head coaches.

The Mountain Lions also had three players - second baseman Ethan Underwood, and outfielders Mark Castle and Rome Wallace - named to the preseason all-conference team.  It's the first time since the 2016 season that Young Harris has had someone named to the preseason squad.

ETHAN UNDERWOOD

• A senior from Acworth, Georgia
• Named to the 2022 PBC All-Tournament team
• Hit .355 with 13 doubles, four home runs and 42 RBI; also led the team with 14 stolen bases
• Was second in the PBC in total hits (81), seventh in batting average (.355), fourth in runs scored (68), tied for eighth in doubles (13) and eighth in stolen bases (14)

MARK CASTLE

• A junior from St. Johns, Florida
• Hit .355 with six doubles, six home runs and 41 RBI in 2022
• Hit .538 in three games at the PBC tournament finals weekend with a home run and had another home run in the NCAA Tournament
• Led the PBC with 10 sacrifice flies

ROME WALLACE

• A senior from Beaufort, South Carolina
• An All-PBC second team selection in 2022
• Hit .327 with eight doubles, 13 home runs and 57 RBI and was second on the team with a .556 slugging percentage
• Ranked sixth in the PBC in RBI (57) and seventh in home runs (13)

Columbus State University, which won the PBC regular season title in 2022, was chosen as the unanimous preseason favorite, receiving all 10 first-place votes for a maximum of 100 points. The Mountain Lions, who are picked No. 30 in the preseason Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II Coaches Poll, received 87 points. YHC won the PBC Tournament title last season for the second time in the past three tournaments.

Georgia College & State University is third with 75 points and is followed by Georgia Southwestern State University (65), the University of North Georgia (65), Flagler College (55), Lander University (50), University of South Carolina-Aiken (48), University of South Carolina-Beaufort (27), Augusta University (23) and Claflin University (10).

The Mountain Lions open their 2023 season Feb. 3 with a 4 p.m. Central time contest against Union (Tenn.) University in Jackson, Tennessee.

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