Baseball: WVU Cracks National Rankings
April 14, 2009 02:06 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
April 14, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University baseball team has been ranked No. 26 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll for the week of April 13.
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| Head Coach Greg Van Zant has played a key role in WVU's national rankings in 1982, 1996 and 2009.
Brian Persinger photo |
The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll is the oldest voting poll in college baseball, originally taking place in 1957. The Mountaineers were last rated in the CBN poll in 1982, when they finished the season with a No. 16 ranking and went 2-2 in the NCAA postseason before falling two games short of advancing to the College Baseball World Series.
The Mountaineers garnered 436 points in the latest CBN poll, three shy of No. 25 George Mason. WVU has gained national recognition for winning 17 of its last 20 games, while its 26-7 overall record is its best mark through 33 games under Head Coach Greg Van Zant.
The Mountaineers also sit at No. 36 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, tallying nine votes overall. The ranking is tied for the highest in school history, matching the 1996 squad, which won both the BIG EAST regular season and postseason championships. The 1996 squad also defeated Tennessee and Georgia Southern in the NCAA Tournament to finish third in the Atlantic Regional.
WVU’s 26 victories are tied for eighth in the country entering today’s matchup at Duquesne, tying Ohio State and New Mexico State on the national list. WVU also boasts the country’s ninth-best winning percentage (.788), and its 6-2 record on the road ranks in the Top 10 nationally.
The Mountaineers last garnered a national ranking on April 4, 2006, when they were ranked No. 29 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
WVU is tied for first place in the BIG EAST with a 10-2 conference record. The Mountaineers have won their first four conference series over Connecticut, Villanova, Georgetown and St. John’s.
