Feb. 8, 2010

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Senior outfielder C.J. Lauriello of Bethune-Cookman and sophomore outfielder Xavier Macklin of North Carolina A&T were named Preseason Co-Players of the Year in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in voting by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors and released by the conference office.

Sophomore Ali Simpson of Bethune-Cookman was voted Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

Lauriello was an All-MEAC First Team selection in 2009. He was third in the league in batting at .398. Lauriello had 19 doubles, four homers, 36 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

Macklin was also an All-MEAC First Team pick a season ago. He led the conference with 48 RBI. Macklin had 20 doubles, five triples and 10 home runs with a .371 batting average.

Simpson led the MEAC with a 3.23 ERA. He had nine wins in 16 appearances. Simpson fanned 79 in 75.1 innings. He was 5-0 with a 1.09 ERA in the MEAC with 39 strikeouts in 33 innings.

The 2010 MEAC Tournament is scheduled for May 20-23 at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla.

2010 MEAC Preseason All-Conference Team

P Ali Simpson, So., Bethune-Cookman

P Jason Barker, Sr., Norfolk State

RP Brandon Pennick, Sr., Delaware State

C Peter O’Brien, So., Bethune-Cookman

1B Abe Eubank, Sr., Delaware State

2B Jared Jeffries, Sr., Florida A&M

3B Derrick Shaw, So., Florida A&M

SS Alejandro Sanchez, So., Bethune-Cookman

OF C.J. Lauriello, Sr., Bethune-Cookman

OF Xavier Macklin, So., North Carolina A&T

OF Darryl Evans, Sr., Florida A&M

DH Ryan Durrence, Jr., Bethune-Cookman

Preseason Co-Players of the Year: Xavier Macklin, North Carolina A&T and C.J. Lauriello, Bethune-Cookman

Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Ali Simpson, Bethune-Cookman