Athletics - Lewis-Clark State

The Lewis-Clark State College baseball team kept the top spot in the NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 poll for the fifth straight week by collecting all 23 first-place votes that were casted for the third straight week.

The Warriors 40-3 overall for a .930 winning percentage, received 653 points in the poll. Among team statistical leaders, Lewis-Clark State is first in ERA (2.62) and batters struck out per nine innings (8.1) and in the top 10 in 11 other categories. Warrior head coach Ed Cheff has now won 40 games or more in 33 of his 34 years and has a NAIA-best (among active coaches) 1,697 career victories.

Thanks to a 10-game winning streak, Cumberland (Tenn.) holds down the second spot for the third consecutive time. This week, the Bulldogs garnered 631 total points. They are getting it done with offense, scoring an average of 8.7 runs per game. During the current winning streak, Cumberland has averaged nearly 10 runs and has hit double-digit run totals in five of those games.

No. 3 British Columbia climbs to its highest spot this year, boasting 598 total points and a 35-8 record. The Thunderbirds, who were ranked fourth last week, have not shied away from tough competition. All eight of their losses have come against current Top-25 opponents, including five of those against Lewis-Clark State. Starting on Saturday, British Columbia travels to No. 17 College of Idaho to close out the regular season. The teams split the four-game series back in mid-March.

No. 4 Lee (Tenn.) climbs two spots and appears in its highest ranking this year. The Flames grabbed 571 total points and recently wrapped up the Southern States Athletic Conference regular season title. The 3-0 blanking of Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) on April 24 was their 13^th straight victory. With a 42-10 overall record, Lee is one of three teams in the NAIA to have 40-plus wins (Lewis-Clark State and No. 13 Southern Poly State (Ga.)).

For the fifth straight week, California Baptist stays at the No. 5 position. The Lancers are 37-12 this year and have been a model of consistency. They have never lost more than one game at a time against NAIA competition and have held the top spot in the Golden State Athletic Conference for the better part of the season. This week, California Baptist recorded 568 total points. The Lancers won 3-of-4 games last week from then-No. 11 and the second-place GSAC team, Vanguard (Calif.).

The Golden State Athletic Conference and Southern States Athletic Conference lead all conferences and unaffiliated groupings with four members ranked in the Top 25. The GSAC boasts California Baptist, No. 10 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.), No. 16 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 24 (tie) Fresno Pacific (Calif.). The SSAC claims Lee, No. 13 (tie) Southern Poly State (Ga.), No. 15 Faulkner (Ala.) and No. 24 (tie) Brewton-Parker (Ga.).

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the 25 conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The sixth regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on May 4.

The official announcement of the 46-team, National Championship Opening Round is scheduled for late on May 13, after the completion of all Conference/A.I.I./Unaffiliated Tournaments. The official announcement of the bracket will be made on May 14.

For more information on NAIA baseball, please click here.

Lewis-Clark State has not been ranked lower than No. 10 going all the way back to the final poll of the 1989 regular season.

Since 2000, Lewis-Clark State has been No. 1 a total of 51 times, which includes a stretch of 25 straight weeks spanning the 2006-08 seasons. The next team after Lewis-Clark State with the most No. 1 rankings since 2000 is Oklahoma City with 25, followed by Lubbock Christian (Texas) with 13, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) with eight and Cumberland (Tenn.) with three.

2010 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – (April 27)

RANK

LAST WEEK

SCHOOL (1^st PLACE VOTES)

2010 RECORD*

TOTAL POINTS

1

1

Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) (23)

40-3

653

2

2

Cumberland University (Tenn.)

39-8

631

3

4

University of British Columbia

35-8

598

4

6

Lee University (Tenn.)

42-10

571

5

5

California Baptist University

37-12

568

6

7

Lubbock Christian University (Texas)

35-10

566

7

8

Bellevue University (Neb.)

34-7

516

8

3

Oklahoma City University

36-11

501

9

9

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.)

36-14

497

10

15

Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.)

33-12-1

431

11

10

Belhaven University (Miss.)

35-13

428

12

12

Louisiana State University-Shreveport

38-9

398

T13

18

Southern Polytechnic State University (Ga.)

45-9

384

T13

14

Madonna University (Mich.)

33-7

384

15

16

Faulkner University (Ala.)

38-17

347

16

11

Vanguard University (Calif.)

31-13

327

17

21

College of Idaho

33-11

289

18

19

Avila University (Mo.)

30-9

278

19

22

Missouri Baptist University

33-12

273

20

13

Union University (Tenn.)

33-12

242

21

17

York College (Neb.)

38-10

233

22

25

University of South Carolina - Beaufort (SC)

37-11

208

23

20

Campbellsville University (Ky.)

35-18

198

T24

24

Fresno Pacific University (Calif.)

27-13

138

T24

23

Brewton-Parker College (Ga.)

34-15

138

Others receiving votes: Tennessee Wesleyan College 133; Northwood University (Texas) 101; University of Rio Grande (Ohio) 73; William Jewell College (Mo.) 72; Taylor University (Ind.) 61; Union College (Ky.) 38; Indiana University Southeast 26; Southern Nazarene University (Okla.) 18; University of St. Francis (Ill.) 16; Thomas University (Ga.) 15; Lindenwood University (Mo.) 14; Malone University (Ohio) 7; Saint Xavier University (Ill.) 3; Dickinson State University (N.D.) 3; Lyon College (Ark.) 3; California State University-San Marcos 1; Spring Arbor University (Mich.) 1; Wayland Baptist University (Texas) 1; Warner University (Fla.) 1; Lambuth University (Tenn.) 1; Viterbo University (Wis.) 1; Biola University (Calif.) 1; William Woods University (Mo.) 1

* Record as submitted by the conference rater and through games played on April 25.