LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – With just days remaining before the beginning of the 2017 baseball season, the national rankings have been released and two Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference teams earned spots among the nation’s top teams.
Trinity University, the reigning Division III champion, sits at No. 7 in the D3baseball.com poll, while Texas Lutheran University comes in at No. 21.
In the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, Trinity is edged out by the Bulldogs, as the two teams sit at No. 10 and 11.
The two teams shared the regular season SCAC title with records of 14-4, but the Tigers eased their way through the conference tournament and continued that streak throughout the national tournament, eventually closing out the season with the league’s first ever Division III Baseball championship.
Texas Lutheran held the edge between the two teams during conference games last season, defeating Trinity 8-4 and 15-5 in San Antonio, before falling 12-4 in the final game of the series. The Bulldogs will return Nathan Malinovsky, who made the most of his freshman season, earning both the SCAC Newcomer and Pitcher of the Year honors. He was also named an All-American by D3baseball.com and was recognized as the national Rookie of the Year.
The Bulldogs will begin their season on Friday February 3rd, while Trinity will start the following week on February 10th.