Villanova University

March 25, 2010

VILLANOVA, Pa. - In regional rankings released on Thursday afternoon, Villanova has been rated as the top team in the Northeast Region by the website Ping!Baseball. The Wildcats drew the No. 1 ranking in the region, which consists of 68 teams and has BIG EAST schools ranked in each of the top four spots in this week's poll.

Villanova is off to a fantastic start to the 2010 season, with a record of 15-3 as they head into the start of BIG EAST Conference play this weekend. The Wildcats have found success with a well-balanced roster that is currently producing a team batting average of .335, an ERA of 3.28 and a fielding percentage of .975. All three of those statistics rank among the top three in the BIG EAST, with Villanova leading the league in ERA.

The weekly regional rankings from Ping!Baseball are compiled based on both the website's weekly top 30 national poll as well as the site's Power Index, which is automatically calculated using a formula. The Northeast Region includes all Division I teams in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware, in addition to Washington, D.C.

Four BIG EAST teams occupy spots in the top 10 of this week's Northeast Region poll. Following Villanova in the top spot, the league is represented by Connecticut (No. 2), Pittsburgh (No. 3), St. John's (No. 4) and Georgetown (No. 8) in the top 10.

The Wildcats carry their 15-3 record into a three-game series against Cincinnati this weekend at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. The Bearcats are currently 11-7 on the season and are ranked 14th out of 54 teams in the Midwest Region poll this week.

Game times for this weekend's series against Cincinnati have been set for Friday at 3:15 p.m., Saturday at 1:15 p.m. and Sunday at 12:15 p.m.