The Malone University baseball team climbed three spots to sixth place in the most recent NCAA Midwest Regional Rankings, which were released on Wednesday. Two more editions of the rankings will follow in the upcoming weeks, including the release of the Midwest Regional bracket during the NCAA Selection Show on May 13th.
 
Following the conclusion of conference championship play, the top eight teams from the Region will advance to the NCAA Tournament beginning on May 17th. Hosted by the Region's top seed, the eight-team field will consist of three automatic qualifiers from the G-MAC, GLIAC, and GLVC, and five at-large selections.
 
MIDWEST REGION RANKINGS (as of May 2nd)                         

1	Illinois Springfield
2.	Bellarmine
3.	Northwood
4.	Ohio Dominican
5.	Grand Valley State
6.	Malone
7.	Ashland
8.	Wayne State
9.	UIndy
10.	Quincy

Coming into last week ranked ninth, Malone went 5-1 on the week to jump into the top eight. The Pioneers, now 30-15 on the year, will close out the regular season in a three-game series against Lake Erie this weekend. With a win, Malone will secure a berth in the G-MAC Championship Tournament, which takes place in Mason, Ohio on May 9-12.
 
To view a complete list of rankings from all eight Division II Regions, visit: www.ncaa.com/rankings/baseball/d2/regional-rankings