NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin baseball coaches have tabbed the Carthage College Red Men to finish fifth in 2018.
 
Carthage, who went 20-18 overall and 11-12 in the CCIW, received 36 points to finish fifth ahead of Millikin, Elmhurst, North Park and Carroll to round out six through nine respectively. 
 
Carthage enters the season with a lot of new faces following the departure of 22 seniors from a season ago, which included all-conference selections Reed Hero, Tim Sulik, Jared Knoespel and Matt Rave.
 
One mainstay from a season ago will be the Red Men's ace, Kevin Tibor.  The 2017 all-conference first team selection will anchor the rotation.  Behind the plate, senior catcher Nick Pierce will be Augie Schmidt's most experienced player, as the senior appeared in 28 games and made 22 starts.  Pierce finished the season hitting .360, scoring 21 runs and knocking in 20 RBIs.
 
Defending CCIW champs, North Central College was picked to finish first with 58 points and six first place votes.  Also ahead of the Red Men were Wheaton, Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana.
 
The Red Men will open their season in just over two weeks when Carthage heads to Tucson, Arizona for their spring break games.