PEMBROKE, N.C. — The UH-Hilo baseball team came in at No. 22 in the latest NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll released Wednesday morning by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
The Vulcans have not played a game in a week, but began the Week Six period with two losses to Azusa Pacific on March 13. The Cougars — who took the series 3-1 from the Vulcans — entered the top 25 this week with a No. 19 ranking.
UH-Hilo moved back nine spots from its previous rank at No. 13.
In addition to APU — No. 15 Franklin Pierce, No. 16 Wayne State, No. 21 Rollins, No. 24 New Haven and No. 25 West Texas A&M each made their way into the latest rankings after having not been ranked in the previous poll. Dropping out of the rankings were Lenoir-Rhyne (7), Southern New Hampshire (10), Florida Southern (19), Indianapolis (21), Cal Poly Pomona (22) and Wester Chester (25).
Reigning National Champion North Greenville (24-2) remained at No. 1 after garnering 500 points and all 20 first-place votes.
In the West Region rankings, the Vulcans also moved down a spot to No. 3 as they were leapfrogged by the Cougars. Cal State San Bernardino — ranked fourth in the national poll — held on to the top spot in the region with Cal State Monterey Bay and Point Loma Nazarene following at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
UH-Hilo made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II rankings earlier this season at No. 25 after starting with wins over then-15th-ranked Augustana and Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason favorite Northwest Nazarene.
The Vulcans will travel to Oahu for a three-game non-conference tilt with HPU this weekend.