Posted: Apr 25, 2017

No. 1 in New England, and rising in the national polls

Salve Regina baseball earned its first national ranking last month when it cracked the Top 30 (No. 26) in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll. Since then, the Seahawks continue to rise in regional and national polling.

NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University baseball has vaulted to No. 1 in the region in the latest New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) poll after a 7-1 week raised the Seahawks' overall record to 27-5. Salve Regina captured the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) regular-season title with four games remaining on its league schedule (10-0; second place has five losses).

Salve Regina continues to rise in the national polls as well, reaching No. 13 in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll, and No. 18 in the D3Baseball.com rankings.

"My biggest fear was that we were going to be just another new team in the Top 25, and let it get to our head and be out of the poll the following week because we stopped working hard," fourth-year head coach Eric Cirella remarked. "But that was not the case. Now we have been ranked for about a month and the guys continue to fight and grind and find ways to win games."

The Seahawks have a habit of scoring the winning runs in their last at bat, whether at home in walk-off style or on the road. At Reynolds Field on campus, on-field celebrations have ensued after dramatic victories over Roger Williams (1-0 on April 2), Endicott (3-2 on April 8), Eastern Nazarene (5-4 on April 22), and Wentworth (10-9 in 10 innings on April 23).

"That's what makes us a dangerous team," Cirella continued, "the ability to beat you in different ways. One game it will be a 1-0 pitching duel and the next we may explode for 15 runs, and occasionally we even situationally hit and use small ball and play good team defense. We honestly have a new hero every day and every game."

With eight regulars batting over .300, and a pitching staff that limits opponents to a .218 batting average, Salve Regina has the ingredients for success each time it takes the field.

"I am proud of the guys more than I can articulate. The coaches and players have bought into what we are trying to accomplish and most guys are still getting better. But being ranked No. 1 in New England or 13th in the country does not give us any added benefit when we step on the field. It is something we have to back up every game and prove that we are deserving because everyone we are going to play will be trying to prove the opposite."

"It has been a crazy month and I would be willing to bet the next few weeks will be just as wild. But if we stick together as a team and understand what got us to this point, I like our chances going forward. But trust me, there are a lot of very good baseball teams in our conference, in the region, and in the country. We are just trying to get better one day at a time and hopefully we will be in a position to compete in a NCAA Regional when it is all said and done."