Tigers Drop in Baseball Polls |
Clemson University
Overall Season Record: 7-3 ACC Regular-Season Record: 0-0 Last Week: 1-2 Wed. W home vs. Winthrop, 6-4 Sat. L home vs. #4 South Carolina, 0-12 Sun. L away vs. #4 South Carolina, 2-3 Next Week Wed. Home vs. Coastal Carolina, 4:00 PM Fri. Home vs. Memphis, 4:00 PM Sat. Home vs. Memphis, 2:00 PM Sun. Home vs. Memphis, 1:00 PM Notes Clemson went 1-2 last week in three games, including two against #4 South Carolina. The Tigers rallied to defeat Winthrop 6-4 on Wednesday, then lost both games of a home-and-home series against the Gamecocks by scores of 12-0 and 3-2 Taylor Harbin's two-run homer in the seventh inning proved to be the difference in #2 Clemson's 6-4 victory over Winthrop at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on February 28. The Eagles scored four runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-1 lead. But Andy D'Alessio hit a towering two-run homer in the sixth inning to cut Winthrop's lead to one run. After tying the score on an Eagle error in the seventh, Harbin's long home run later in the frame put the Tigers on top for good. Winthrop outhit the Tigers 10-8, but five of Clemson's hits went for extra bases. Stephen Clyne pitched 3.0 scoreless innings in relief of one-hit ball to earn the win, while Daniel Moskos pitched a perfect ninth inning to record the save. South Carolina hit three home runs on its way to a 12-0 victory over Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on March 3. The shutout broke Clemson's streak of 165 consecutive home games of scoring at least one run dating back to 2002. Justin Smoak had a game-high three hits and three RBIs, including a two-run homer. Phil Disher and James Darnell each hit three-run homers and totaled four RBIs, while the Tigers had just two hits the entire game. South Carolina also left just three runners on base and had 12 hits in the game. Harris Honeycutt pitched 7.0 innings, allowing two hits, no runs, and four walks with seven strikeouts to record the win. Trent Kline's run-scoring single in the ninth inning lifted South Carolina to a 3-2 victory over Clemson at Sarge Frye Field on March 4. Clemson tied the score 1-1 on Marquez Smith's run-scoring single in the seventh inning, then took a 2-1 lead on Addison Johnson's RBI single in the eighth inning. With two outs and no one on base, South Carolina rallied for a run in the bottom of the eighth inning on Disher's RBI double. D'Alessio and Smith each had two hits for the Tigers, who outhit South Carolina 8-7. Ryan Hinson pitched 6.0 strong innings in a starting role. He allowed only four hits, one run, and one walk with five strikeouts in a no-decision. In three games during the week, Clemson hit .198. D'Alessio was the Tigers' top hitter, as he was 4-for-10 with a triple, homer, and two RBIs. The pitching staff had a 5.81 ERA and .279 opponents' batting average during the three-game week. Clyne pitched 3.0 scoreless innings of one-hit ball in relief against Winthrop to earn the win, while Hinson pitched 6.0 effective innings in a no-decision at South Carolina on Sunday. On the season, Clemson has a 7-3 overall record. The team is hitting .278 with a .362 on-base percentage. Doug Hogan leads the way with a .412 batting average, two triples, four homers, and seven RBIs. Brad Chalk is hitting .395 with a .489 on-base percentage. He has also reached base via a hit or walk in 37 straight games dating back to 2006. Stan Widmann hit .409 without committing an error in the first six games as Clemson's starting shortstop, but has missed the last four games due to a neck injury. The junior from Hurst, TX will have tests performed this upcoming week to help determine the severity of the injury. In his absence, Harbin has started at shortstop. He has not committed an error in 17 chances at the position in 2007. The Tigers have a 3.46 ERA and .253 opponents' batting average through 10 games this season. Clyne has not allowed a run in 10.2 innings pitched over four relief appearances. He has a streak of 26 consecutive scoreless innings pitched dating back to 2006. Hinson has a 1.20 ERA in three starts as well. Clemson will return to action on Wednesday when it faces Coastal Carolina at Doug Kingsmore Stadium at 4:00 PM. Then over the weekend, the Tigers will play host to Memphis for a three-game set. VANDERBILT NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER POLL TUCSON, Ariz. ? Vanderbilt University (14-0) has been ranked No. 1 for the third straight week in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper NCAA Division I baseball poll. The Commodores, off to the best start in school history, sported a 1.25 team ERA with 39 strikeouts in 36 innings last week against Austin Peay and a trio of games against Xavier. Offensively, the team had a .338 batting average with 5 homers, 12 doubles and 30 RBIs in four contests. No. 2 Florida St. (17-0) is also off to the best record in school history. The old mark of 15-0 was set 32 years ago by the 1975 squad coached by Woody Woodward. The longest overall win streak in school history was set by the 2002 team that won 25 in a row. Poll Notes: The biggest jump in the poll this week was Texas A&M (15-1) which climbed from 19th to 9th. The Aggies have won 14 straight games. During the past weekend, Texas A&M knocked off No. 7 Oregon St. in the Aggie Baseball Classic, 5-2 and went through the tournament unbeaten. Other teams which are red-hot include Kentucky (12-0), Virginia (12 straight wins), and Alabama (6 straight). Four teams fell out of the poll this week in San Diego (1-3 last week), Florida Atlantic (2-1), Baylor (2-2) and South Florida (1-3). New to the poll is Kentucky (12-0), Alabama (12-2), Southern Mississippi (10-2) and College of Charleston (11-1). The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1957 college baseball season.
Rank School (Record) Pts Previous
Baseball America College Top 25 Rankings: March 5
DURHAM, N.C.-- For the third consecutive week, North Carolina holds onto the No. 1 spot in the Baseball America Top 25 Rankings. The Tar Heels lost their first game of the season on Saturday (3-2 in extra innings to Penn State) but won their other four games last week.
At 14-0 Vanderbilt jumps to No. 2. Sophomore third baseman Pedro Alvarez hit his sixth and seventh home runs over the weekend, combining with junior lefthanded pitcher David Price to get the Commodores off to their best start in school history.
Sweeping their annual home-and-home series against Clemson, South Carolina moves up from No. 4 to No. 3.
Florida State, the other undefeated team in the Top 25, moved up from No. 8 to No. 5. The 17-0 Seminoles are off to their best start in school history.
Arkansas fell from No. 5 to No. 10 after losing two of its three games in the Dairy Queen Classic (Minneapolis). With Nebraska, UC Riverside, and North Carolina State dropping out of the rankings, No. 20 Southern California and No. 24 Auburn makes their 2007 Top 25 debuts.
The staff of Baseball America determines the Top 25 rankings. Records indicated are through games of March 4 and do not include ties.
Baseball America College Top 25 Rankings
Rk. Team W-L Last Previous 1. North Carolina 11-1 4-1 1 2. Vanderbilt 14-0 4-0 3 3. South Carolina 10-1 2-0 4 4. Virginia 14-1 4-0 7 5. Florida State 17-0 4-0 8 6. Clemson 7-3 1-2 2 7. Cal State Fullerton 12-5 3-1 10 8. Rice 11-6 2-2 6 9. Oregon State 13-3 2-1 9 10. Arkansas 10-4 1-2 5 11. Miami 9-5 3-0 12 12. Texas 12-6 3-0 13 13. Pepperdine 13-4 3-1 17 14. Wichita State 10-4 2-2 11 15. Arizona State 12-5 2-2 14 16. Oklahoma State 10-3 4-0 21 17. Coastal Carolina 12-2 3-1 22 18. Texas A&M 15-1 4-0 25 19. Long Beach State 8-4 0-0 19 20. Southern California 13-7 4-0 NR 21. Georgia Tech 8-6 2-2 15 22. San Diego 12-8 1-3 16 23. UCLA 7-7 0-0 23 24. Auburn 10-1 4-0 NR 25. Evansville 8-4 4-0 NR
Dropped Out: Nebraska (18), UC Riverside (20), North Carolina State (24)
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