Hot Start Leads Lions to Seventh In Southeast Region Poll
PEMBROKE, N.C. – The fantastic start by the Mars Hill Lions 2016 season is starting to pay dividends as the Blue and Gold find themselves ranked in the top-10 of this week’s Southeast Region Poll.
PEMBROKE, N.C. – The fantastic start by the Mars Hill Lions 2016 season is starting to pay dividends as the Blue and Gold find themselves ranked in the top-10 of this week's Southeast Region Poll. The Lions, who were initially right outside the 10th spot in 13th, find themselves in seventh after a three-game sweep over the Carson-Newman Eagles this past weekend. The ranking is the highest in program history.
The Lions as a team rank first in the South Atlantic Conference with 88 extra-base hits, including second in homeruns (25) and total bases (388).
Seniors Evan Rogers and Ray Carolina have been catalysts for the explosive offense that averages just over seven runs per contest within league play. Rogers leads all of the conference with nine long balls and is second with 13 stolen bases, tied with teammate Carolina. Dylan Powers leads the team with a .384 average, which is good for ninth in the league.
Columbus State collected seven first-place votes while Lander came in behind the Cougars with three first-place votes. Belmont Abbey currently sits in third after dropping from the top-2 this week. USC Aiken is in fourth with a single first-place vote and Lincoln Memorial rounds out the top-5.
Erskine holds the sixth spot followed by the Lions and SAC foe Newberry in eighth. North Greenville and UNC Pembroke round out the top-10.
Mars Hill will be back in action on Tuesday, March 16 as travel to Young Harris, Ga. for a non-conference matchup with the Mountain Lions. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
