In the Week 2 NJCAA DI baseball rankings, Arizona Western slipped from No.15 down to No. 20 after losing two of three games on the road last weekend to No. 19 Cochise College.

"It's a tough place to play, especially to open conference play," Arizona Western head baseball coach Jon Wente said. "We got punched in the mouth but I'm proud of our guys for coming back and finding a way to win the final game out there. It made our bus ride a little happier on the way home."

The ACCAC now has three teams ranked in the NJCAA Top 25. No. 19 Cochise College leaped over the No. 20 Matadors in the rankings and No. 25 Central Arizona also snuck onto the list. 

"I think the rankings hurt us," Wente said. "We were playing well, unranked, then we're at 15. Early on I feel the rankings are a little overrated. You still have to come out and earn your stripes. It's nice to be recognized for some of the things we've done. I'd rather be ranked at the end of the year when it matters the most. More importantly I'd rather be playing better baseball at the end of the year."

This weekend the Matadors are back home at Walt Kammann Field when they host ACCAC rival Eastern Arizona for a three game series starting on Friday. 

"They're a good club," Wente said. "They've got some older guys, some guys that have some skin in the league and have performed well. They're going to be feeling like us, coming into this weekend like it's a must win weekend. We both stumbled out of the conference gate a little bit but it's a long season. We just hope week by week that we are getting better."

Friday's opening game with Eastern Arizona is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. MST. All games can be seen live on the Matador Sports Stream. 

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