Five PBC Baseball Teams Ranked in Preseason National Poll

AUGUSTA, GA – Five Peach Belt Conference baseball teams have been ranked among the top 40 in the nation in the Collegiate Baseball Magazine NCAA Division Poll. USC Aiken will begin the 2010 campaign as the highest-ranked PBC team, coming in at #6 in the poll. Francis Marion is ranked 12th with North Georgia 24th, GCSU 27th and UNC Pembroke tied at 40th. Columbus State and Armstrong Atlantic State also received votes in the poll.

The Pacers reached as high as No. 2 nationally in 2009 en route to their second ever Peach Belt Conference regular season championship. The regular season title was the first for the Pacers since 1994. USC Aiken (42-19) concluded its season having been a part of its fifth consecutive NCAA Division II Baseball regional.

Francis Marion finished 2009 with a 38-15-1 record, placed second during the Peach Belt Conference regular season and won the PBC Tournament, and earned the team’s fourth NCAA Division II national tournament bid in the past seven years, placing third at the Southeast Regional. Francis Marion was ranked 14th in the final 2009 poll. Tenth-year FMU head coach Art Inabinet welcomes back 21 lettermen, including six position starters, the designated hitter, and three starting pitchers, from that squad. Dating back to the 2005 season, the Patriots have now appeared in 79 of the past 85 national polls.

This marks the third straight year North Georgia has been ranked in the preseason top 40 poll after being selected 21st in 2008, and 17th last season before rising to #6 in the nation the first week in March. The Saints finished 34-24 in 2009 winning 10 of their final 12 games and reaching the PBC Tournament championship game.

Georgia College & State University reached the NCAA Southeast Regional tournament last year, their third appearance in the last four years. The Bobcats were 37-19 overall and 16-11 in the Peach Belt in 2009 and were ranked 20th in the final poll of the season.

UNC Pembroke broke nine school records last season, including registering a program-best 37 victories on the strength of a team-high .327 batting average and 70 home runs. In terms of winning percentage, the 37-17 (.685) record was the team’s best win-loss clip since the 1973 club tallied a 28-10 (.750) clip. UNCP was ranked 30th in the final poll of 2009.

The 2010 baseball season begins on Feb. 1. To see the complete poll, click here.