AUSTIN, Texas — The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its weekly national poll on Wednesday, elevating St. Edward's baseball to No. 18 in the NCAA Division II national rankings.
The Hilltoppers (5-1) enter the week riding a five-game win streak, powered by a road series victory over West Texas A&M and a home sweep of Eastern New Mexico. St. Edward's punctuated the weekend with a 7-0 shutout in Game 2 behind Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week CONNOR FREEMAN, highlighting the balance between a dominant pitching staff and one of the nation's most productive offenses.
Through six games, the Hilltoppers have established themselves as one of the Lone Star Conference's most complete lineups, leading the league in hits (66), sacrifice flies (five), and slugging percentage (.529). St. Edward's also ranks second in walks (50), batting average (.317), doubles (14), home runs (10), runs scored (70), and stolen bases per game (2.33).
Senior first baseman CONNOR COX has been the catalyst at the heart of the offense. Cox leads the Hilltoppers in batting average (.519), runs scored (12), hits (14), doubles (tied for third), home runs (tied for third), and slugging percentage (.963). He currently leads the Lone Star Conference in batting average, on-base percentage, total bases, and runs scored, setting the tone for a lineup that continues to produce from top to bottom.
St. Edward's returns to the road this weekend for a four-game series against Cameron (3-3). The Aggies opened their season with a series win over Texas A&M International before dropping a series to Texas A&M-Kingsville, setting up an early-season conference matchup between two teams looking to build momentum.
Rank School (1st Place Votes) Record Pts. Prev.
1 Tampa (19) 5-0 499 1
2 Central Missouri 6-1 468 2
3 North Greenville (1) 7-0 457 13
4 UT Tyler 5-1 445 3
5 Lenoir-Rhyne 3-0 384 6
6 Pittsburg State 7-0 368 16
7 East Stroudsburg 0-0 350 7
8 Cal State Monterey Bay 5-2 347 14
9 Northwood 0-0 339 8
10 West Florida 5-1 330 17
11 Catawba 3-1 278 5
12 Colorado Mesa 2-2 258 9
13 Minnesota State 0-0 231 11
14 Westmont 3-0 228 24
15 Grand Valley State 0-0 213 15
16 Felician 0-0 191 18
17 Lee 6-0 181 NR
18 St. Edward's (Texas) 5-1 136 RV
19 Seton Hill 0-0 134 20
20 Point Loma 4-3 108 19
21 Belmont Abbey 4-0 100 RV
22 Barry 6-1 83 NR
23 MSU Denver 7-0 92 NR
24 Thomas Jeff erson 0-0 63 25
25 Millersville 1-2 58 22
Others receiving votes: North Georgia (6-1) 39 points; Augustana (2-0) 31 points; Northwest Nazarene (6-4), 28 points; West Alabama (6-0) 23 points; Indianapolis (1-3) 22 points; Young Harris (5-2) 20 points; Bentley (1-2) 14 points; Angelo State (3-3) 5 points; Henderson State (4-0) 3 points; Carson-Newman (5-0) 3 points; Florida Tech (5-1) 2 points West Chester (0-0) 1 point
