AUGUSTA, Ga. - The University of North Georgia baseball team came in at No. 2 in the Peach Belt Preseason Coaches Poll, released Thursday morning. Additionally, Jake Arnold, Steven Bower and Andres Perez were each named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.

North Georgia finished second in the preseason voting with one first-place vote and 104 total points. The Nighthawks captured at least a share of their third PBC regular-season title in five years in 2019 and were ranked in the preseason top 20 in 2020. Four seniors and nine juniors return for the Nighthawks in 2021, including 2019 first team All-Conference pitcher Steven Bower and second team All-Conference reliever Parker Morrison.

A fourth-year junior from Peachtree City, Georgia, Arnold started all 19 games for the Nighthawks in 2020, hitting .308 with eight doubles, a home run and 15 RBI. He ranked third in the PBC in doubles with five multi-hit games and did not commit an error in 168 chances last season, ranking third in double plays turned and sixth in putouts.

A fifth-year senior from Lawrenceville, Georgia, Bower is a 2017 and 2019 PBC first-team All-Conference selection and four-time Pitcher of the Week, including the week of February 11, 2020. He went 4-2 in six starts last year, pitching 37 innings with a 3.86 ERA and 54 strikeouts. The lefty ranked second in the PBC in strikeouts last year, tied for third in wins and fourth in innings pitched.

A junior from Duluth, Georgia, Perez was a 2018 first-team All-Conference selection and named to the 2018 All-Tournament Team. After redshirting in 2019, he returned for nine games in 2020, hitting .353 with three doubles, six home runs and 17 RBI. Perez tied for fourth in the PBC in home runs a year ago and was named the Player of the Week on February 11, 2020.

The Nighthawks open the season on the road on February 6 as they take on PBC opponent Claflin.