Patriot baseball team ranked 13th, Sandifer honored again by PBC
Francis Marion University moved up four positions to No. 13 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Division II Top 30 poll, released on Monday, while FMU sophomore right-handed pitcher Don Sandifer was named the Peach Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time in three weeks.
The Patriots are 13-6 overall and climbed after playing five road games against higher ranked teams last week.
Francis Marion returns to the friendly confines of Cormell Field this week to host Clarion University for a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday (March 9) at 2 p.m. The Patriots will then resume Peach Belt play this weekend with a three-game series against 20th-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State University. The series will start with a single game on Saturday at 3 p.m. and conclude with a doubleheader on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Admission to home games is $6 for adults and $4 for students with FMU students being admitted free with a valid identification card.
Sandifer improved his season record to 4-1 with a four-hit 5-0 shutout of 16th-ranked USC Aiken on Saturday. He allowed only four singles after carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He struck out 10 batters and walked only one while throwing 117 pitches.
In his last 34 innings, which include his Feb. 19 no-hitter, Sandifer has allowed no earned runs and only nine base hits. The Bamberg native leads the PBC with a 0.23 earned run average and in opponents’ batting average against (.117). He is second in the lead in strikeouts with 43 in 39 innings.
This week’s ranking means the Patriots have appeared in 98 of the past 106 national polls dating back to the 2005 season. Francis Marion was ranked 15th in the 2011 pre-season poll, dropped out of the first two rankings, but returned to the poll and has been 24th and 17th (last week).
Fellow PBC member Georgia College (15-2) continues to occupy the No. 1 spot in the Top-30 poll, and altogether seven Peach Belt squads are ranked among the Top 30 programs.
Rank Team Record Points Previous 1. Georgia College 15-2 480 1 2. Central Missouri 7-1 462 5 3. U.C. San Diego 15-5 444 3 4. Emporia St. 7-0 428 8 5. Mount Olive 16-3 414 7 6. Tampa 12-4 410 6 7. Franklin Pierce 7-0 386 10 8. Cal. St. Chico 11-2 354 9 9. N.C. Pembroke 15-3 350 3 10. North Georgia 11-4 334 11 11. Sonoma St. 11-2 326 15 12. West Florida 14-4 288 2 13. Francis Marion 13-6 280 17 St. Mary's (Tex.) 15-4 280 18 15. Tarleton St. 14-2 248 RV 16. Grand Valley St. 7-2 228 21 17. S.C. Aiken 13-4 224 16 18. Cal. St. Stanislaus 13-3 222 26 19. West Texas A&M 16-3 198 RV 20. Armstrong Atlantic St. 14-2 172 22 21. Kutztown 7-3 156 28 22. Florida Southern 8-5 118 24 23. Limestone 12-5 116 27 24. Southern Conn. St. 6-0 98 RV 25. West Chester 3-0 88 RV 26. Northern Kentucky 5-3 52 25 27. St. Cloud St. 10-4 50 RV 28. Mercyhurst 8-2 34 RV 29. Mesa St. 6-4 24 RV 30. Indianapolis 2-0 16 RV Abilene Christian 10-5 16 30 Columbus St. 12-6 16 19 Western Oregon 10-6 16 RV Southern Arkansas 8-5 16 29
Also Receiving Votes: Florida Tech (12), Catawba (12), Belmont Abbey (10), Minnesota St.-Mankato (4), Cameron (4), California, PA (4), Ashland (4), Nova S.E. (4), West Alabama (2), Tusculum (1), Erskine (1), Lander (1), Incarnate Word (1), Nebraska-Omaha (1), Ft. Hays St. (1), Nebraska-Kearney (1), Winona St. (1), Minnesota-Duluth (1).
