Baseball Continues Ascent of National & Regional Polls

NEW LONDON, Conn. – In the midst of another strong season, the Mitchell College baseball team continues to rise in multiple regional and national polls as the spring season enters the home stretch.

Entering this week with a 20-4 overall record, the Mariners found themselves just outside of the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25, Week 7 (through games of April 9). Receiving 26 votes, Mitchell sits at 30th in the popular website's most recent poll, which is voted on by a panel of 25 Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.

Meanwhile, in the most recent American Baseball Coaches Association Division III baseball poll (as of April 11), published by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, Mitchell ranks 28th in the country, one of only four Division III teams from New England to crack the top 30 as voted upon by the NCAA Division III Voting Committee. Additionally, in this week's New England Baseball Journal's Division III Coaches Poll, the Mariners come in at fourth, behind only Endicott, Wheaton, and Eastern Connecticut.

Heading into play on Wednesday the Mariners are 21-4 overall after a 13-3 victory over Wesleyan University on Tuesday. They also remain undefeated in New England Collegiate Conference play with a  perfect 6-0 record.

Through Monday, the Mariners ranked first in the country as a team at the Division III level in on base percentage (.475), fifth in runs per game (10.7), seventh in earned run average (3.27), 11th in slugging percentage (.531), and 15th in batting average (.341).

On the individual side through action on Monday, senior Dougie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) was fourth in the nation at the Division III level in batting average (.500) and first in doubles (17), while fellow senior Matt Falk (Enfield, Conn.) led the nation in RBI (47) and runs batted in per game (1.96).

The Mariners (21-4 overall, 6-0 NECC) next play on Wednesday, April 12, when they host Massachusetts Maritime Academy at 4:00 pm. They then return to conference play on Saturday, April 15, with a doubleheader at New England College before returning home for a critical non-conference twin bill against Salve Regina on Sunday, April 16.