MOC baseball ranked Number 20

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on December 28, 2006 1:48 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive is ranked No. 20 in the 2007 Collegiate Baseball Division II Preseason Top 40 Poll, it was announced by Collegiate Baseball Magazine.

The national ranking is the Trojans' highest since peaking at No. 15 in 2004.

Mount Olive posted a record of 39-16 last season, winning the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference championship and earning a berth in the South Atlantic Regional of the 2006 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship. The Trojans won 18 of 19 games late in the season, including a 4-0 mark at the CVAC Tournament. Mount Olive fell to Georgia College and State and USC-Aiken at the NCAA II Regional.

The Trojans return eight All-CVAC players, including a pair of All-Region selections and the 2006 CVAC Freshman of the Year. Mount Olive also returns six pitches from last year's staff, all of whom had winning records in 2006.

The Trojans received 344 points in the poll, placing four points behind No. 19 West Chester (Pa.) and 22 points ahead of No. 21 Minnesota-Mankato.

Mount Olive is the lone CVAC team to be ranked in the top 40 and has the fourth-highest ranking among the six nationally-ranked South Atlantic Region teams: No. 2 Georgia College and State, No. 6 Francis Marion, No. 14 Columbus State, No. 22 USC-Aiken and No. 37 USC Upstate.

Mount Olive opens its season the first weekend of February with a four-game series at Armstrong Atlantic State, which was the 44th-highest vote-getter in the poll. The Trojans play doubleheaders on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4 at Savannah, Ga.

Mount Olive's home opener takes place Feb. 21 as the Trojans play host to Shaw in a doubleheader.