Good news on two fronts for USCB baseball

It was a rough week at the Sun Conference Tournament for the USC Beaufort baseball team, which lost its first two games in the conference tourney and was suddenly looking like a bubble team for the 45-team NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
 
 But the Sand Sharks got a couple bits of good news Wednesday that seem to keep them in position to earn a regional berth.
 
 First, regular-season champion Embry-Riddle beat St. Thomas twice Wednesday to earn the Sun Conference Tournament title. Because the Eagles are ranked No. 8 in the nation and virtually a lock for the tournament -- if not to host a regional in Daytona Beach, Fla. -- that's good news for the Sand Sharks, because it keeps St. Thomas from earning an automatic bid and stealing one from a bubble team.
 
 Then the new NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll came out Wednesday afternoon, and the Sand Sharks dropped only one spot to No. 20. Now, I wasn't a math major in college, but it would seem to me that if 45 teams (46 if you count top-ranked Lewis-Clark State College, which gets an automatic bid to the 10-team NAIA World Series as the host school) get into the tournament, and USCB is ranked No. 20, then it would be tough to keep the Sand Sharks out.
 
 But we'll find out soon enough. The host schools for the nine regional sites will be announced Thursday, and the five-team brackets for each regional will be released Friday evening.
 
 If I had to guess, I'd say USCB is either a No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the Daytona Beach regional or the Columbus, Ga., regional, but I'll keep you posted.