App State Picked 6th in East Division

BOONE, N.C. — Entering head coach Kermit Smith's third season as head coach, Appalachian State's baseball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt Conference's East Division.

Coastal Carolina received all 12 first-place votes to win the East Division in the Coaches' Preseason Poll, and Louisiana received 11 votes to win the West Division.

App State's 18-win season in 2018 featured a 10-9 finish over the last month, including an 8-7 record over the last 15 conference games. The late-season push coincided with 2018 freshman pitcher Will Sprinkle joining the weekend rotation, and the top three batting averages on the team belonged to 2018 freshmen Alex Leshock, Bailey Welch and…