Files from NAIA Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The fifth edition of the NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll has 19 teams shuffling around spots from last week, the NAIA announced. With all the movements, there were no new teams introduced. One of the few that retained its position is Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), who is the No. 1-ranked team for the fifth straight week. The Warriors gathered all 23 first-place votes and a total of 653 points.
One team on the rise is No. 3 British Columbia as they climbed to their highest spot in program history, boasting 598 total points and a 35-8 record. The Thunderbirds, who were ranked fourth last week, have not shied away from tough competition. All eight of their losses have come against current Top-25 opponents, including five of those against Lewis-Clark State. Starting on Saturday, British Columbia travels to No. 17 College of Idaho to close out the regular season. The teams split the four-game series back in mid-March.
At the top of the poll, The Warriors stand at 40-3 on the year and have the best win percentage (.930) this season. Among team statistical leaders, Lewis-Clark State is first in ERA (2.62) and batters struck out per nine innings (8.1) and in the top 10 in 11 other categories.
Thanks to a 10-game winning streak, Cumberland (Tenn.) holds down the second spot for the third consecutive time. This week, the Bulldogs garnered 631 total points. They are getting it done with offense, scoring an average of 8.7 runs per game. During the current winning streak, Cumberland has averaged nearly 10 runs and has hit double-digit run totals in five of those games.
No. 4 Lee (Tenn.) climbs two spots and appears in its highest ranking this year. The Flames grabbed 571 total points and recently wrapped up the Southern States Athletic Conference regular season title. The 3-0 blanking of Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) on April 24 was their 13th straight victory.
For the fifth straight week, California Baptist stays at the No. 5 position. The Lancers are 37-12 this year and have been a model of consistency. They have never lost more than one game at a time against NAIA competition and have held the top spot in the Golden State Athletic Conference for the better part of the season.
The Golden State Athletic Conference and Southern States Athletic Conference lead all conferences and unaffiliated groupings with four members ranked in the Top 25. The GSAC boasts California Baptist, No. 10 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.), No. 16 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 24 (tie) Fresno Pacific (Calif.). The SSAC claims Lee, No. 13 (tie) Southern Poly State (Ga.), No. 15 Faulkner (Ala.) and No. 24 (tie) Brewton-Parker (Ga.).
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the 25 conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The sixth regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on May 4.
The official announcement of the 46-team, National Championship Opening Round is scheduled for late on May 13, after the completion of all Conference/A.I.I./Unaffiliated Tournaments. The official announcement of the bracket will be made on May 14 by 5 p.m. CST.
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