Mulerider Baseball Ranked Sixth in Pre-Season Poll
Posted by Houston Taylor on January 13, 2009 · Leave a Comment
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas will open its 2009 baseball season with the No. 6 ranking in the country according to Collegiate Baseball in its annual NCAA Division II pre-season top 40 poll.
The Muleriders, 46-12 a year ago, and advancing to the semi-finals of the NCAA South Central Region tournament, are the highest ranked team among Gulf South Conference members in the poll. Fellow conference West Division foes Ouachita Baptist and Delta State are picked ninth and 12th, respectively. The Tigers finished second in the nation last year, advancing to the championship final before falling to Mount Olive (N.C.) in the deciding Division II World Series game. The Statesmen eliminated SAU from the regional tournament in a 5-3 decision.
GSC East members Valdosta State and West Alabama are 21st and 25th in the poll, respectively.
Mount Olive is picked to defend its national championship from a year ago, garnering 640 total points. Tampa (Fla.), of the Sunshine State Conference, is second with 618 points, Central Missouri (604) is third, California-San Diego (590) is fourth, and Columbus State (Ga.) rounds out the top five with 576 points.
Behind Southern Arkansas (540) is California State-Chico (536), Emporia State (Kan.) is eighth with 534 points, and rounding out the top ten behind OBU (522) is South Carolina-Aiken (498).
With the realignment of NCAA regions, this year the Muleriders and the rest of the GSC will be playing in the South Region for the first time, which will also include the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic and Sunshine State conferences. A total of nine teams from the South Region are in the top 40 of the pre-season poll.
SAU’s 46 wins a year ago matched a school record and gave the school its third consecutive season of 40-plus victories.
Southern Arkansas’ 2009 squad opens the season with its first eight games on the road, beginning February 1-2 with three games at St. Edwards (Texas) in San Antonio. The home opener is February 10 in a nine-inning contest with Louisiana State-Shreveport, and a 13-game home stand begins February 20 that features Northwest Missouri State, Southern Indiana, Culver-Stockton (Mo.) College, East Central (Okla.), West Florida and Drury (Mo.).
The schedule features non-conference games against top-ranked and perennial powers Tampa and West Alabama in Livingston, Ala., February 14-15. Gulf South Conference play begins March 14-15 at Harding and wraps up with home series in slugfests against highly ranked Ouachita Baptist April 18-19 and Delta State April 25-26.
