Northwestern University senior Jake Owens (Glens Falls '07) and Elon University junior Chris Dove (Saratoga '06) have both earned recognition as part of the 2008 All-Ping!Baseball preseason team. Both Owens and Dove were listed as "For Your Consideration" nominations under their respective positions. The pair are also among eight former New York Collegiate Baseball League players who are part of the 2008 Brooks Wallace Award preseason "Watch List."

Owens has started 142 consecutive games at second base for Northwestern. Last spring, he led the Wildcats in batting average (.385), hits (85), runs scored (48) and stolen bases (18). Owens' 85 hits set a new single-season school record. He was named second-team All-Big Ten. Through three years at Northwestern, Owens has 191 hits, 112 runs scored and a .336 batting average.

The Stevens Point, Wisc., native helped the 2007 Glens Falls Golden Eagles to a 34-6 regular season record. He recorded 36 hits in 38 games and batted .247 with one home run and 18 runs batted in. Owens finished second on the team in walks (25) and stolen bases (nine).

Dove batted .333 with a team-high 31 stolen bases and eight triples as a sophomore at Elon. Dove's eight triples led the Southern Conference. He tallied 67 hits, two home runs, 30 RBI, 40 runs scored, nine doubles, 20 walks and a team-high .488 slugging percentage. Dove recorded 20 multi-hit games and collected three hits, three runs scored and two RBI during Elon's win at nationally-ranked Clemson. Prior to Elon, Dove attended Pfeiffer College. He played in 60 games as a true freshman and batted .317 with five home runs and 33 runs batted in.

The Graham, N.C., native was a key member of the Saratoga Phillies 2006 NYCBL championship team. Dove batted .294 with 22 runs batted in and a league-high 23 stolen bases on 25 attempts. On the mound, he was 2-1 with a 1.82 earned run average in six appearances with two complete games. Defensively, Dove added 15 assists. He threw out several runners attempting to score during the NYCBL playoffs and one during the Phillies one-run victory in the opening game of the NYCBL Championship Series. Last summer, Dove played for the Duluth Huskies of the Northwoods League. He hit .238 with 13 runs batted in and 22 stolen bases.