THE COLUMBIA UNION College baseball team had a lot of expectations for this year. So far, so good. With 31 games in the books, the Pioneers are 16-15 and are proving to be an offensive force in the NCAA. Not only are the 16 wins so far a school record (with more than 20 games still to play), but the team is showing up in the top of the NCAA-II rankings in many different categories.

CUC currently ranks 25th in the country in team batting average, hitting a robust .342. They also rank 22nd in scoring with an 8.3 runs-per-game average. There are more than 220 teams that compete in the NCAA-Division II level.

Coach Michael Ricucci told CUCblog yesterday that one of the keys to the team's success this year is speed. "We're fast," he said. "Real fast." The statistics seem to prove his point: CUC is ranked #4 in the nation in stolen bases, averaging nearly 3.5 stolen bases per game. Three CUC students rank in the top 30 in the country in stolen bases. Eugene Burnett, a senior outfielder is the 7th leading base stealer in the country with 28 stolen bases. Junion Kendall Hurst ranks 14th and Freshman Brandon Hall is 26th.

More detailed stats can be found at the NCAA website. You can also find out more about the CUC Pioneer baseball team at the CUC webstie.