Tigers Ranked in Top 20 in Baseball Polls |
TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona St. University (28-1) has been
ranked No. 1 for the first time this season in "Collegiate Baseball" newspaper's NCAA Division I baseball poll. The Sun Devils, which have won 19 straight games, have hit 38 home runs on the year in 29 games which equal the entire team total from all of last year. ASU's 28-1 record is the best start in school history as the Sun Devils are hitting .360 as a team with six players (30 or more at-bats) hitting over .400. Ranked second is Georgia Tech. which is off to a glistening 14-0 record, the second best start in school history. Florida St., ranked No. 1 the previous two polls, slipped to second after beating the University of Florida two of three games. Rice (15-1) rounded out the top four in the nation. The Owls have won 12 straight games. The top four teams in the nation are only separated by four points. Cal. St. Fullerton, ranked second last week, lost two of three at Minnesota and slipped to fifth. Poll Notes: Two teams fell out of the poll this week in Tennessee and Alabama-Birmingham. The Volunteers lost three straight at home to Miami, Fla. UAB dropped two games last week. The "Collegiate Baseball" Newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1957 college baseball season.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's
"LOUISVILLE SLUGGER'S" NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
* P Brian Morgan, Webber International: Morgan pitched the second no-hitter in school history as he struck out 8 against Trinity International in a 4-0, 7-inning victory. Morgan only walked two in the contest.
* RHP Tim Stauffer, Richmond: Stauffer struck out a
career-high 15 batters in a 3-1 win over Princeton. The pre-season All-American allowed only two hits and one walk.
* RHP Matt Durkin, San Jose St.: Durkin fanned a career-high
15 batters in a complete-game 8-0 shutout against Santa
Clara. He allowed no walks and gave up five hits. He struck
out seven of the first 10 batters.
* 3B Ryan Roberts, Texas-Arlington: Roberts belted 4 home
runs with 11 RBI and 9 runs scored during the past week in
six games. In a win against Centenary, he tied a school
record with five hits, including two home runs and 5 RBIs.
He was a double shy of hitting for the cycle in a game
against New Mexico.
Baseball America's Top 25
DURHAM, N.C.--Georgia Tech remained undefeated and atop Baseball America's Top 25 college baseball rankings for the fifth straight week.
The Yellow Jackets continued to feel pressure atop the poll, but swept a two-game series from Campbell and a three-game set from Rutgers to move to 14-0. Rice remains No. 2 after beating Houston and sweeping its first series in Western Athletic Conference play, at Louisiana Tech. One slip--a one-run loss at Florida--was enough for Florida State to drop behind Arizona State, which at 28-1 moved up to the third spot. Cal State Fullerton remained fifth despite losing its first series of the year, at Minnesota.
Of significance elsewhere in the poll, Auburn joined the Top 10 for the first time in 2003 after sweeping a series at then-22nd-ranked North Carolina. Miami moved up three spots to No. 17 after sweeping Tennessee in Knoxville, and Alabama joined the rankings for the first time this season on the strength of a 12-3 record. The Crimson Tide also handed Rice its only loss earlier in the season.
Baseball America's staff determines the Top 25 rankings, and records (which do not reflect ties) are through games of March 9.
Team Overall Last Week Previous 1. Georgia Tech 14-0 5-0 1 2. Rice 15-1 4-0 2 3. Arizona State 28-1 4-0 4 4. Florida State 19-2 5-1 3 5. Cal State Fullerton 16-3 2-2 5 6. Stanford 14-7 3-0 7 7. Long Beach State 13-6 3-1 8 8. Baylor 14-5 2-2 6 9. Texas 15-6 2-1 9 10. Auburn 16-3 4-0 13 11. South Carolina 13-3 4-1 10 12. Richmond 10-1 7-1 12 13. Nebraska 9-2 2-0 14 14. Wake Forest 9-4 4-1 11 15. Mississippi State 9-1 4-0 15 16. Louisiana State 11-6 4-0 16 17. Miami 12-3 3-0 20 18. Notre Dame 4-4 1-0 17 19. Clemson 8-3 5-0 19 20. Kansas 16-4 3-0 21 21. Tulane 13-4 4-0 23 22. Florida Atlantic 16-5 4-0 NR 23. Texas A&M 15-4 5-0 NR 24. Alabama 12-3 4-0 NR 25. UNC Greensboro 14-1 4-1 25
Dropped Out: Southern California (No. 18), North Carolina (No. 22), Wichita State (No. 24).
USA TODAY Sports Weekly/ESPN Top 25 College Coaches Poll
As selected by 41 Division I head baseball coaches representing the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). Records are complete through games ending March 9.
1. ARIZONA STATE (28-1) Last poll: 3 Poll points: 990 (15 No. 1 votes). 2. FLORIDA STATE (19-2) Last poll: 1 Poll points: 982 (18). 3. GEORGIA TECH (14-0) Last poll: 4 Poll points: 939 (7). 4. RICE (15-1) Last poll: 5 Poll points: 901 (1). 5. CAL STATE FULLERTON (16-3) Last poll: 2 Poll points: 833. 6. STANFORD (14-7) Last poll: 8 Poll points: 724. 7. SOUTH CAROLINA (13-3) Last poll: 7 Poll points: 721. 8. LONG BEACH STATE (13-6) Last poll: 10 Poll points: 694. 9. BAYLOR (14-5) Last poll: 6 Poll points: 692. 10. TEXAS (15-6) Last poll: 9 Poll points: 673. 11. AUBURN (16-3) Last poll: 11 Poll points: 633. 12. NEBRASKA (9-2) Last poll: 12 Poll points: 502. 13. MISSISSIPPI STATE (9-1-1) Last poll: 13 Poll points: 468. 14. MIAMI (12-3) Last poll: 17 Poll points: 434. 15. RICHMOND (10-1) Last poll: 16 Poll points: 428. 16. FLORIDA (13-3) Last poll: 15 Poll points: 417. 17. WAKE FOREST (9-4) Last poll: 14 Poll points: 381. 18. CLEMSON (8-3) Last poll: 18 Poll points: 356. 19. ALABAMA (12-3) Last poll: 24 Poll points: 216. 20. TEXAS TECH (15-6) Last poll: 21 Poll points: 197. 21. KANSAS (16-4) Last poll: 25 Poll points: 162. 22. WICHITA STATE (12-3) Last poll: 19 Poll points: 160. 23. TEXAS A&M (15-4) Last poll: NR Poll points: 105. 24. NOTRE DAME (4-4) Last poll: 23 Poll points: 90. 25. LSU (11-6) Last poll: NR Poll points: 78.
Dropped out: No. 20 Southern California (9-10, 2-2 last week), No. 22 Tennessee (10-5, 1-4 last week).
Others receiving votes: Tulane (60), Arkansas (59), Southern California (57), North Carolina-Greensboro (45), Oklahoma (44), Florida Atlantic (39), Arizona (31), Coastal Carolina (26), Alabama-Birmingham (23), Houston (22), Tennessee (21), UNLV (21), Mississippi (13), Southwest Missouri State (12), Southern Mississippi (11), Oklahoma State (10), Western Kentucky (9), Pepperdine (8), Florida International (7), UCLA (5), Minnesota (5), South Florida (5), Illinois (5), Northwestern State (3), North Carolina-Wilmington (3), New Orleans (2), Virginia Commonwealth (2), Vanderbilt (1).
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