[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]

[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]

Photo courtesy of HCC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — For the third-straight week, the Hutchinson Community College baseball team reached its highest ranking ever in the NJCAA National Rankings.

The Jayhawk West champion Blue Dragons are now No. 3 in the latest rankings, up one spot from last week.

After sweeping Labette last weekend in the Region VI Tournament at Hobart-Detter Field, the Blue Dragons will now take on Kansas City in an opening-round matchup of the Region VI Tournament at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita. Hutch and KCK will be the third game of the day scheduled for 4 p.m.

Two weeks ago, the Blue Dragons reached their highest ranking in team history with a ranking of No. 6. That mark improved to No. 4 last week. With previous No. 1 McLennan losing last week, the Blue Dragons move up again to No. 3.

Chipola regains the top spot in the rankings, garnering all 10 first-place votes. Crowder College is second. Dyersburg State and Chattahoochee Valley are Nos. 4 and 5.

Johnson County remains No. 14 and Cowley is receiving votes this week.

Hutchinson is bidding for its first Region VI baseball championship since 2010 and fourth regional title overall.

As a team, the Blue Dragons are fourth in the NJCAA with 91 home runs and 10th in team batting average at .345.

 

 

2017 NJCAA DIVISION I BASEBALL RANKINGS

                                                Record          Points            Last Week

1. Chipola (10)42-8                200                 2
2. Crowder 46-10             188                 3
3. Hutchinson 45-11             178                 4
4. Dyersburg State 41-7                165                 6
5. Chattahoochee Valley 46-10             161         7
6. McLennan 45-10             143                 1
7. Wallace State 44-11             136                 8
8. Iowa Western 42-14             126                 12
9. Panola 43-11             113                 10
10. Polk State 41-13 104                 5
11. Odessa 44-11 92                   19
12. Connors State 46-10 85                   15
13. Santa Fe 37-12 73                   13
14. Johnson County 44-14 59                   14
15. San Jacinto-North 39-16 57                   20
16. Grayson 35-12 52                   9
17. John A. Logan 39-11 43                   RV
18. Palm Beach State 37-13 33                   RV
19. Harford 46-8 26                   RV
20. Wabash Valley 42-12 25                   18

Others Receiving Votes: Jefferson (42-12, 16.0); Cowley (39-16, 15.0); Southern Nevada; 37-14, 4.0); Cochise (43-15)

 

REGION VI TOURNAMENT

When: May 12-16

Where: Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, Wichita

Opening-Round Match-ups – Friday, May 12

10 a.m. – Barton (42-16) vs. Neosho County (39-20)

1 p.m. – Fort Scott (37-22) vs. Cowley (39-16)

4 p.m. – Hutchinson (45-11) vs. Kansas City (40-19)

7 p.m. – Johnson County (44-14) vs. Dodge City (38-17-1)

Live Video: All Hutch games streamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network

Twitter: @bluedragonsport