The University of Mary Washington baseball team earned a spot in the D3Baseball.com Top 25 rankings for the first time since this season at No. 25, according to a release from the organization on Tuesday morning. The Eagles have been receiving votes in the poll since the March 10 edition, but finally enter the rankings.
UMW has claimed victories over a multitude of ranked teams this season as it took down then-No. 5 John Hopkins (March 4), then-No. 18 Gettysburg (March 21), then-No. 7 Salisbury (March 28), and most recently then- No. 10 Bridgewater last Tuesday.
The Eagles boast a 19-7 record and the No. 26 ranking in the NCAA Power Index Poll, as well as a 12-2 record at home. UMW is younger this season than it has been in year's past, sporting no seniors in its regular starting lineup. On the bump, though, it's the seniors that have led the way as
Matthew Boyd and
Gavin Riley have been excellent for Mary Washington this season. They've led a group with the 34th-best ERA in the country (4.06).
Boyd has carried a pair of no-hitters into the seventh inning, including his most recent against No. 9 Bridgewater, while Riley has returned to his 2024 All-Region honoree self as he's sported a 3.60 ERA in 40 innings. After not seeing any action last season,
Noah Ezzie has emerged as a solid starter for, yielding just three earned runs in his three starts this season. Meanwhile,
Matthew Caldwell has pitched well in the action he's seen, sporting a 2.52 ERA in eight outings.
The lineup, as previously mentioned, is a bit younger than in previous seasons. Junior catcher
Oliver Martin is hitting .400 in 24 games, while sophomore transfer shortstop,
Collin Clarkson, is sporting a .396 average.
Cole Powers (.295) has delievered some big-time hits, while All-Region honoree
Connor Hassan has turned around an early-season slump and is batting near .300 (.294).
On the bases, the Eagles are hard to catch as they rank sixth in the nation in stolen bases with 88 so far this season. Hassan has nabbed 20 of them, good for 24th-best in the country.
The Eagles are on the road to take on another ranked foe in No. 5 Shenandoah on Wednesday in Winchester, Va. before returning home to match up against Penn State-Harrisburg on Sunday.
