For the first time, the South Arkansas College Stars baseball team has cracked the NJCAA Division II top 20 weekly poll.
The national ranking came on Monday after the Stars (25-9, 14-2 in Region 2 play) swept Carl Albert State in four games last week, bringing their win streak to 13 games. They have produced three straight clean sweeps of region opponents and are in control at the top of the Region 2 standings.
They will play regional opponent Redlands (17-19, 9-7) at home in four games this week, beginning with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. on Friday at Field 4 of the El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex. A second doubleheader is scheduled to start at noon on Saturday at the field.
As a team, the Stars are batting .317 with an on-base percentage of .438 and 41 home runs. Both Elijah Nichols (45) and Trace Shoup (43) are in the top five in the region in runs batted in. Hunter Royal (51) is in the top five in strikeouts, and Trey Miller (4) is in the top five in saves.
