INDIANAPOLIS --- For the first time this
season, Tusculum College is the top-ranked team in the NCAA
Division II Southeast Region Baseball Poll announced officials
Wednesday.
The Pioneers (46-8) moved up one spot to atop the region rankings,
ahead of Mount Olive, who was the No. 1 team in last week's poll.
Armstrong and Francis Marion hold onto the No. 3 and No. 4
positions, while Catawba moves up a spot to fifth, while USC Aiken
dropped one position to sixth. Lander and Georgia College stay at
seventh and eighth, respectively in this week's rankings.
The regional ranking is used for selecting the six-team regional tournament, which will be held at a campus site, yet to be determined. Tournament champions of the South Atlantic Conference, Conference Carolinas and Peach Belt Conference will receive automatic berths to the NCAA postseason. Three at-large bids will also be awarded to comprise the six-team, double-elimination regional, which will be held May 17-20.
Tusculum and Mount Olive have already clinched the automatic bids for the SAC and Conference Carolinas, respectively. The Peach Belt Tournament began Wednesday in Columbus, Ga. and will conclude later this weekend.
Tusculum is also ranked second in the country in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II Coaches' Poll, which is the Pioneers highest national ranking in school history.
Tusculum fans will be able to view the NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show on-line at www.TusculumPioneers.com and at www.NCAA.com this Sunday night at 10 p.m. (EST).
TC's 46 wins are the second most in school history and tied for
the third most in conference history, matching the 46-win campaign
by Wingate in the 1995 season. TC needs one more victory to match
Catawba's 47 wins in 2006 and four more to match the 50-14 slate
posted by the Pioneers in 2007.
Tusculum's .852 won-loss percentage is on-pace to be a new
single-season school and league mark. The school record is .781 by
the 2007 squad, while Catawba's 38-7 record in 1992 was good enough
for a .844 winning percentage.
- TC -
NCAA II Southeast Region Rankings
Rk Team Prv
1 TUSCULUM 2
2 Mount Olive 1
3 Armstrong 3
4 Francis Marion 4
5 Catawba 6
6 USC Aiken 5
7 Lander 7
8 Georgia College 8
