CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Johnson County Community College (Kan.) opens play in the Plains District tournament Wednesday as the No. 1 team in the nation.
The Cavaliers, 48-10, took over the top spot in the final regular-season poll of the season Monday, up one spot from last week.
Three teams qualified for the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series as of Monday afternoon. No. 4 Northwest Florida State (36-16) won the South Atlantic District and No. 6 Florence-Darlington (S.C.) Technical College (51-10) claimed the East District over the weekend.
On Monday, Shelton State Community College (Ala.) won the South District championship, rallying for three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning of the championship game to beat Delgado (La.) 6-5. The Bucs (43-17) are ranked No. 12. Their coach, Bobby Sprowl, will be inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in the pre-tournament banquet.
Georgia Highlands, which faces Dyersburg State (Tenn.) in the Appalachian District playoffs, is No. 2, with Iowa Western ranked third. The Reivers are in the four-team Midwest District along with John A. Logan and Wabash Valley, who are receiving votes, and McHenry County (Ill.).
Weatherford (Texas) is ranked No. 5, Crowder College (Mo.) is No. 7, followed by Blinn College (Texas), the College of Southern Nevada and Hutchinson Community College (Kan.)
Crowder travels to Seminole State (Okla.), which is receiving votes, for the South Central District best-of-three series, which starts Friday.
Blinn is awaiting the winner of the Region 14 North playoffs between San Jacinto College-North and Navarro to play the Mid-South District series this weekend. The eight-team Plains District begins Wednesday in Wichita, Kan.
Weather forced the Southwest District in Waco, Texas, to halt play Sunday and reconvene Monday with four games. No. 17 McLennan won it first two games and was facing Weatherford in the winners' bracket on Monday.
The West District will be played at South Mountain in Phoenix this weekend, with Southeastern (Neb.) and the College of Southern Nevada.
The 10 qualifying teams open play on May 25 at Suplizio Field in Grand Junction. Seeds and pairings will be announced on Tuesday, May 21. The tournament banquet is at 6 p.m on May 24 at the Grand Junction Convention Center, with tickets on sale Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the JUCO Office in the Home Loan Building, 205 N. 4th St., during regular business hours. Tournament passes are on sale online at jucogj.org.