WINTERVILLE—The NJCAA released its preseason baseball and softball polls last week and Pitt Community College checked in at #20 in both rankings.

For softball, it is the program's first-ever appearance in the Division I poll's top 20. The Bulldogs kicked off the 2011 season Sunday by splitting a doubleheader with Mt. Olive College at the Winterville Parks and Recreation Complex. Game one went to the Trojans, 5-0, before the Bulldogs rallied to take game two, 1-0.

PCC Baseball gets its season under way at home Feb. 8 against Mt. Olive College. First pitch at Minges-Overton Baseball Complex is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Pitt’s softball and baseball programs reached their respective NJCAA national championship tournaments in 2010.

WINTERVILLE—The 2011 baseball season doesn’t start until February, but a pair of Pitt Community College sophomores have already committed to continuing their playing careers at four-year schools once they have completed their eligibility with PCC this spring.

Tanner Lovick and Tyler Molinaro have signed with the University of South Carolina and UNC-Wilmington, respectively.

Lovick, a South Central High School product, batted .397 in 48 games for PCC last season, going 62-for-156 with seven homers, 15 doubles and 47 runs batted in. As a shortstop, he had a .905 fielding percentage and helped turn 17 double plays.

In round two of the Junior College World Series, Lovick went 2-for-4 against Temple College (TX) with two RBIs and a walk. He is one of 17 players (and the only junior college transfer) to sign with the 2010 national champion Gamecocks this fall.

A right fielder and designated hitter during the 2010 season, Molinaro was a .344 hitter (45-for-131) with nine homers, nine doubles and 38 RBIs. He led the team in walks (34) and recorded a .955 fielding percentage with just two errors in 46 games.

Molinaro, a Charlottesville, Va., native who played at Albemarle High School, was just 1-for-6 in two JUCO World Series games as the designated hitter but did score a pair of runs against College of Southern Nevada in the first round.

With the signings of Lovick and Molinaro, 14 members of the 2010 baseball team have either signed with four-year institutions or have been drafted to play professionally.

Coach Tommy Eason’s 2010 squad finished 41-13 overall after winning the Region X Tournament and the Eastern District title to earn the school’s first-ever trip to the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.