Pacers End Year Ranked 10th in Final Collegiate Baseball Poll

AIKEN, S.C. - USC Aiken's 2009 baseball team ended the year exactly where they were ranked in the preseason with the Pacers tied with Central Missouri for 10th in the final Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II Top 30 poll.

The Pacers entered the 2009 season as the preseason No. 10 team in the country by Collegiate Baseball.

The final ranking of 10th is the highest for the Pacers under 2009 Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year Kenny Thomas. USC Aiken ended the 2008 season ranked 11th, while they concluded the 2005 season 12th.

The ranking of 10th is the highest in the final Collegiate Baseball poll for the Pacers since the 1993 season when the Pacers were ranked fifth in the final poll.

USC Aiken was the highest and one of four PBC schools ranked in the final poll. Francis Marion ended its 2009 season ranked 14th, while Armstrong Atlantic State came in at No. 25. UNC Pembroke finished the year tied for 30th with two others.

The Pacers reached as high as No. 2 nationally in 2009 en route to their second ever Peach Belt Conference regular season championship.

The regular season title was the first for the Pacers since 1994. The Pacers also have two PBC Tournament crowns, having won the league tournament in 1992 and 1993.

The Pacers' prowess during the regular season helped USC Aiken to top honors in the Southeast Region, enabling the program to host its second ever NCAA Division II Tournament regional.

The Pacers advanced to the regional final for the second consecutive season before bowing out to NCAA Division II Baseball Championship semifinalist and Conference Carolinas Tournament champion Belmont Abbey in the first game of the championship round.

USC Aiken (42-19) concluded its season having been a part of its fifth consecutive NCAA Division II Baseball regional. The Pacers' 42 wins in 2009 leave the program entering the 2010 campaign with five consecutive 40-win seasons.

USC Aiken has been a participant in the NCAA Division II Tournament seven times (1992, 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009).