INDIANAPOLIS -- The second set of regional rankings in softball and the first set in baseball both brought some good news for PacWest teams with Biola moving up in softball, while Point Loma is No. 1 in baseball.
In both sports, the NCAA will release three sets of regional rankings, which are used to help determine seeding and at-large qualification for the NCAA West Regionals. In both sports, the PacWest regular season champion along with the GNAC and CCAA tournament champions will earn automatic berths. The remaining at-large berths will be awarded based on the rankings at the end of the season with three given out in baseball and five in softball.
SOFTBALL
1. Cal State San Marcos 36-8
2. Concordia 42-7
3. Chico State 34-11
4. Cal State Dominguez Hills 33-15
5. Sonoma State 34-14
6. Cal State Monterey Bay 31-17
7. Azusa Pacific 34-14
8. Biola 20-17
9. Northwest Nazarene 25-17
10. Saint Martin's 21-16
Concordia remains at No. 2, while Azusa Pacific also stayed put at No. 7 in the rankings, putting both teams inside the playoff picture with one set of rankings left to be announced. Biola moved up to No. 7 in the region as a result of Cal State East Bay dropping out of the rankings with a sub-.500 record.
Concordia is the regional leader in wins this season, while Azusa Pacific is tied for third in the wins column, holding an identical record to Sonoma State at the No. 5 spot. However, both teams have a strength of schedule below .500, which is why they are ranked lower than their records would indicate. Concordia ranks third in RPI, and Azusa Pacific ranks seventh.
Biola, at three games over .500, is in a tricky position going into the final week of the season. The Eagles are in the playoff picture, but since there are no GNAC teams in the top-8, the winner of the GNAC tournament will knock out one of the teams that currently are in the top-8. That means Biola needs to move up to at least No. 7 in the rankings in order to be safe.
Chico State leads Concordia slightly in RPI and strengh of schedule, but the Eagles hold the advantage in every other category currently. Whichever team ends up receiving the No. 2 seed, assuming Cal State San Marcos remains locked in at No. 1, will earn the right to host one of the sub-regional tournaments.
BASEBALL
1. Point Loma 36-6
2. Azusa Pacific 29-13
3. Cal State Monterey Bay 33-12
4. Chico State 27-11
5. Cal Poly Pomona 26-15
6. Fresno Pacific 25-17
7. Western Oregon 23-15
8. Northwest Nazarene 21-19
Three PacWest teams are currently in the playoff picture, but Fresno Pacific sits on the bubble with no GNAC teams in the top-6, meaning the Sunbirds need to move into the top-5 in order to avoid being bumped out by the GNAC tournament champion.
Point Loma and Azusa Pacific are both in position to earn a hosting bid in the regionals as the top-2 teams. The first and second seeds will each host three teams for the opening rounds of the regionals.
The Sea Lions are the clear No. 1 team so far in th season with the best winning percentage and RPI while holding a .519 strength of schedule. Azusa Pacific ranks fourth in winning percentage, second in RPI and has a .558 strength of schedule. Fresno Pacific ranks eighth in RPI, but the winning percentage category keeps the Sunbirds ahead of Northwest Nazarene.
The rankings for both baseball and softball will be updated next Wednesday.