CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Everything is new this season for the LSU Eunice baseball team.

After winning their eighth NJCAA Division II title last May, the Bengals moved up to Division I and opened a newly renovated baseball facility.

They've joined Delgado, Baton Rouge and Nunez in the Louisiana Community Colleges Athletic Conference. And after being ranked ninth in the preseason poll, the Bengals (34-1) have risen to the No. 1 spot in this week's NJCAA national rankings, released Monday.

LSU Eunice received nine first-place votes to jump up one spot from last week and are just ahead of defending Alpine Bank Junior College World Series champion Blinn College (Texas), which received the other first-place vote after a 27-7 start.

Cowley County (Kan.) is ranked third at 23-6, followed by previous No. 1 Weatherford (Texas), which is 27-7, and Shelton State (Ala.) at No. 5 at 28-6.

LSU Eunice has won eight Division II national titles since 2006 and is hitting .360 as a team, averaging 11.2 runs per game and allowing only 3.5 runs per game. The pitching staff, with a 3.57 ERA, features three starters with ERAs under 3.20, led by Caden Tarango, who is 8-10 in 10 starts with a 2.36 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 42.3 innings.

Jackson Legg is hitting .426 with 41 RBI, one of three players hitting over .400.

The regional playoffs are a month away, with the 10 district tournaments determining the field for the JUCO World Series, which is May 24-31 at Suplizio Field in Grand Junction. The final seeding and tournament bracket will be released on May 20 by the NJCAA.

Fans have until April 9 to renew their reserved tournament passes at jucogj.org. On April 10, all remaining seats will be released for sale to the public. General admission passes also go on sale April 10, with individual game tickets available starting May 3.