TUCSON, Ariz.  — After five games in five days, the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen move to No. 9 in the latest American Baseball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, announced Tuesday morning, and remain in the top ten for the second week in a row. The team went 3-2 on the week including their fourth straight conference series victory, but move four spots from last week's No. 5 slot. 

Opening last week's slate, the Kingsmen held on for a rollercoaster 19-7 game over the New Rochelle Blue Angels, Tuesday afternoon. The combined 27-hit contest featured 13 pitchers, 14 extra-base hits and 15 walks, but most importantly, ended in a Kingsmen win. However, a seven-run sixth inning for the MIT Engineers on Thursday snapped a six-game winning streak for Cal Lutheran, taking the non-conference matchup 10-6.

Looking forward to the weekend, the Kingsmen outwitted the Caltech Beavers, Friday afternoon, in game one of their fourth conference series and put up 13 runs on 11 hits behind senior Justin Fong's second complete game of the year.

Game two against Caltech fared much the same as the Kingsmen were able to cut things short after taking the 21-3 lead after seven innings. Unfortunately, the Beavers had the Kingsmen's number in game three, taking the 8-1 victory over Cal Lutheran for the first time in program history.  

With an 18-6 overall record and 9-3 record in conference, Cal Lutheran is currently tied for first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with Chapman who moves up into No. 4 in the ABCA rankings. Other notable names on the list include No. 7 Texas Lutheran who the Kingsmen defeated 4-2 on March 1, and No. 11 Piedmont who the Kingsmen routed 4-3 on February 9.

With a fresh week ahead of them, the Kingsmen return to the field on Friday, April 5, to begin a three-game SCIAC series against the La Verne Leopards.

ABCA Release: April 2, 2019

Previous ABCA Rankings: March 26, 2019 ; March 19, 2019 ; December 19, 2018 (Preseason)
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Release by Christy Effendie, Assistant Sports Information Director