CU plummets to No. 23 in NAIA ratings

Cumberland's inconsistent start to the season apparently caused the Bulldogs to plummet from No. 2 in the preseason poll to No. 23 in the first in-season NAIA baseball poll released earlier this week.
The Bulldogs will bring a three-game winning streak and an 11-6-1 record into today's 2 p.m. TranSouth Conference game against Bethel at Woody Hunt Stadium.
Defending national champion Lewis-Clark [Idaho] State remained No. 1 while Oklahoma City climbed two spots to replace CU at No. 2.
A pair of Tennessee teams shot up in the opposite direction, as did an out-of-state TranSouth rival. Lee [Tenn.] University jumped 16 slots to No. 3 while Trevecca moved 20 spots to a school-record No. 4 as the Trojans garnered their first-ever No. 1 vote. TSC-rival Lyon [Ark.], unranked during the preseason, is No. 6 in this week's poll.
Bellevue [Neb.], which lost at Cumberland 11-5 on Tuesday to fall to 7-5, slipped four spots to No. 13. Tennessee Wesleyan, which beat the Bulldogs in Athens last week, fell five positions to No. 19.