Sports

UWA moves into collegiate baseball national rankings

March 3, 2014March 3, 2014 WAW Admin Alabama, baseball, Demopolis, GSC, Gulf South Conference, Livingston, NCAA Division II, university of west alabama, UWA, West Alabama

rp_primary_Baseball_Celebration TUCSON, Ariz. – After winning back-to-back Gulf South Conference series, the University of West Alabama baseball team has moved into the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national rankings at No. 27.

The Tigers (13-5) are one of five GSC teams ranked in the Division II poll. West Florida (12-2) is ranked second nationally, followed by No. 11 Valdosta State (11-4), No. 22 Delta State (7-5), 25th-ranked Alabama-Huntsville (10-5) and UWA.

“I personally don’t put to much stock in the polls, but I am proud and excited for our team,” UWA head coach Gary Rundles said. “They have worked very hard this year and being recognized for their efforts is always rewarding.

“The recognition is good for recruiting for the future. It is still very early in the season and we need to stay focused to the task at hand,” Rundles said. “We talk a lot about handling failure in our game, but handling success is equally difficult.”

West Alabama (5-4 GSC) begins a four-game road swing with a doubleheader Saturday at Lee (11-5, 5-4 GSC).

Rank School (Record) Points Previous

1. Tampa (15-1) 480 1

2. West Florida (12-2) 462 2

3. Minnesota St. (5-1) 448 3

4. Southern Arkansas (16-4) 422 4

Nova Southeastern (14-2) 422 6

6. Lander (16-2) 400 11

7. Grand Valley St. (2-1) 390 8

8. Florida Tech. (13-4) 354 5

9. California Baptist (15-3) 328 7

10. Barry (14-2) 318 18