The Pitt-Bradford baseball team was picked fifth in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference preseason coaches' poll, which was released Wednesday.

La Roche was predicted to repeat as conference champs, followed by Penn State Behrend, Mt. Aloysius and Pitt-Greensburg.

The Panthers appeared in the AMCC tourney a year ago despite featuring a roster mostly comprised of underclassmen. Pitt-Bradford was eliminated by runner-up Penn State Behrend in the opening round, suffering a 4-3 setback in 11 innings to end its season.

Seven starters return from the 2016 lineup, including all-conference performers Jay Clinger and Dalton Renn. Renn led the team in runs batted in last year, and Clinger was among the team leaders in extra base hits.

The Panthers return four starters on the mound, including a trio of seniors in Justin Beimel, Matthew Hogue and Ryan Northcott.

First-year head coach and alumnus Zach Foster will lead the Panthers. He was named just the second coach in program history in July.

Pitt-Bradford opens the season Saturday, Feb. 25 in New Market, Va., against Juniata and will play Baldwin Wallace the following day.