Patriot Baseball returns to national rankings
After a two-week absence, Francis Marion University has returned to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Division II Top 30 poll. Riding a five-game winning streak, the Patriots are among three teams tied for 24th position.
Francis Marion is 7-3 and has scored in double figures in four of the five recent victories. The Patriots will play host to Pfeiffer University on Wednesday at 3 p.m. on Cormell Field.
The Patriots were ranked 15th in the pre-season poll, but dropped out of the rankings following a 2-3 start.
This week’s ranking means the Patriots have appeared in 96 of the past 104 national polls dating back to the 2005 season. FMU was ranked in every poll during the 2010 season, including 12 weeks in the Top 10.
The University of California-San Diego (10-2) retains the No. 1 spot for the second straight week, while six PBC squads are ranked among the Top 30 programs.
Six opponents on the Patriots’ 2011 schedule appear in this week’s poll. This weekend, FMU will entertain Seton Hill University for a three-game series. Seton Hill is among the other school receiving votes in this week’s poll.
No. Team Record Points Previous 1. U.C. San Diego 10-2 480 1 2. Florida Southern 7-1 456 2 3. Georgia Coll. & St. 8-2 452 3 4. Tampa 8-2 436 5 5. Central Missouri 2-1 408 4 6. West Florida 10-1 396 11 7. North Georgia 8-1 392 8 8. Emporia St. 1-0 372 7 9. Mount Olive 8-2 334 14 10. Minn. St.-Mankato 0-0 330 9 11. Franklin Pierce 0-0 324 10 Southern Arkansas 5-2 324 6 13. Tusculum 8-1 282 12 14. Cal. St. Chico 6-1 274 22 15. Erskine 9-0 252 17 16. Cameron 6-1 242 — 17. N.C. Pembroke 11-0 220 18 18. Sonoma St. 9-0 196 — 19. Grand Valley St. 2-1 186 — 20. St. Mary's, Tex. 8-3 184 RV 21. South Carolina-Aiken 8-2 152 RV 22. Slippery Rock 4-0 136 RV 23. Abilene Christian 4-2 122 19 24. Southern Indiana 2-3 94 13 Nova S.E. 7-2 94 RV Francis Marion 7-3 94 — 27. North Alabama 9-1 64 RV 28. Armstrong Atlantic St. 6-2 58 22 29. Kutztown 5-3 34 25 30. Northern Kentucky 2-1 30 15
Also Receiving Votes: Texas A&M-Kingsville (14), Columbus St. (12), California, PA (12), W. Oregon (6), Catawba (4), Delta St. (4), Indianapolis (2), Wingate (1), Belmont Abbey (1), Limestone (1), Incarnate Word (1), St. Edwards (1), Rollins (1), Florida Tech. (1), Palm Beach Atlantic (1), New Haven (1), Mass.-Lowell (1), Adelphi (1), Mesa St. (1), New Mexico Highlands (1), St. Cloud St. (1), Winona St. (1), Nebraska-Kearney (1), Ashland (1), Wayne St., MI (1), Bellarmine (1), West Chester (1), West Virginia St. (1), Mercyhurst (1), Seton Hill (1), Mansfield (1), Shepherd (1).
