UMO sixth in latest rankings

MOUNT OLIVE – The University of Mount Olive baseball team was ranked No. 6 in the Southeast Region when the NCAA Division II Baseball Committee unveiled the first ranked order list of regional rankings on May 3.

The NCAA regional rankings determine the participants for the NCAA tournament. The Southeast Region consists of the Conference Carolinas, the South Atlantic Conference and the Peach Belt Conference. All three conference tournament champions receive an automatic bid with the top four remaining teams in the final regional rankings receiving at-large bids.

Defending National Champion North Greenville was top-ranked in the poll with a 44-6 overall record and a 41-6 mark against in-region opponents. Newberry, the SAC regular season champions, sits second in the rankings with a 39-9 record, all against regional teams. Belmont Abbey holds the third spot in the rankings with a 36-14 mark with a 19-1 record in non-conference play. Columbus State was slotted fourth (34-13), while UNC Pembroke (36-13, 33-12) completed the top five in the Southeast regional rankings.

Mount Olive (32-14, 29-14), Wingate (32-18), Young Harris (34-14), and Georgia Southwestern (29-17) rounded out top nine teams listed in the rankings.

The Trojans have posted a 6-6 record this season against the region’s ranked teams and will face regionally-ranked UNC Pembroke in the opening round of the league tournament. Mount Olive holds the fifth-highest RPI in the Southeast while featuring one of the toughest strengths of schedule in the region.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics