Tigers Drop in Baseball Polls |
DURHAM, N.C.--Georgia Tech remained undefeated
and atop Baseball America's Top 25 college baseball rankings. The Yellow Jackets went to Savannah, Ga., and ran their season-opening winning streak to six with wins on the week against Mercer, Rider, Michigan and Division II Armstrong Atlantic. Rice stayed on their heels with a stellar five-win week, posting four shutouts in the process (two against ranked teams). Florida State stayed at No. 3, with Arizona State and Cal State Fullerton moving up to Nos. 4 and 5. Those two teams moved up after Texas lost a series to visiting Stanford. The Longhorns moved down to No. 6 while the Cardinal moved up to No. 9. However, the Big 12 Conference came out on the better end in a showdown between Baylor and Southern California, swept by the Bears. They moved up to No. 8 while the Trojans tumbled to 16th. Four new teams joined the rankings for the first time this season, led by Miami at No. 22. The Hurricanes swept visiting San Diego State. No. 23 Kansas, which swept Louisiana State last weekend, moved into the rankings for the first time since the end of the 1994 season. Texas A&M (7-2) and Wichita State (9-1) moved in at Nos. 24 and 25. Baseball America's staff determines the Top 25 rankings, and records are through games of Feb. 23.
Team Overall Last Week Previous
20); Fla. International (No. 22); Stetson (No. 23); Mississippi (No.
25).
FLORIDA ST. NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER POLL
TUCSON, Ariz. - Florida St. University (11-1) has been
ranked No. 1 for the first time this season in "Collegiate Baseball" newspaper's NCAA Division I baseball poll.
The Seminoles, which have won eight straight, jumped from second to first this week after Texas (ranked No. 1 the previous four polls) dropped two of three at home to Stanford.
None of the top seven teams from last week, except Texas,
lost a game. Stanford (9-6) jumped from 11th to seventh this week as Texas fell to eighth. All six of Stanford's losses this season have been to teams ranked in the top 10 (two to Florida St., three to Cal. St. Fullerton and one to Texas).
Florida St. has outscored opponents 122-34 in 12 games, averaged 10.1 runs per game, cracked 45 extra base hits and swiped 23 of 28 bases. The pitching staff has a glistening 2.13 team ERA, has struck out 110 batters and walked only 33.
Poll Notes: Baylor swept a 3-game series at home against Southern California. The Trojans, which lost early last week to Pepperdine, have now lost four straight games. Several red-hot teams include Arizona St. (12 in a row), Tennessee (8 straight), N.C. Greensboro (8 consecutive), Kansas (6 wins in a row), and Georgia Tech. (6 straight).
Two teams fell out of the poll this week in Houston (3-6)
and Florida International. FIU lost two of three over the
past weekend to Bethune-Cookman.
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 NCAA Div. I Poll (As of Feb. 24, 2003) Rank School (Record) Points Previous 1. Florida St. (11-1) 494 2 2. Cal. St. Fullerton (11-1) 492 3 3. Georgia Tech. (6-0) 491 4 4. Arizona St. (21-1) 490 5 5. Rice (8-1) 488 6 6. South Carolina (8-1) 485 7 7. Stanford (9-6) 483 11 8. Texas (12-3) 482 1 9. Long Beach St. (8-4) 476 8 10. Wake Forest (4-1) 470 14 11. Baylor (8-3) 468 16 12. Mississippi St. (2-1) 466 10 13. Miami, Fla. (7-2) 461 13 14. Louisiana St. (6-4) 458 12 15. Richmond (2-0) 457 15 16. Texas A&M (7-2) 450 19 17. Kansas (11-3) 447 21 18. Auburn (8-3) 444 23 19. Clemson (1-2) 442 17 20. Notre Dame (2-2) 439 18 21. Southern California (5-6) 437 9 22. Tulane (8-1) 436 24 23. Florida (8-1) 434 30 24. Tennessee (8-0) 432 26 25. Wichita St. (9-1) 429 27 26. Nebraska (4-2) 428 22 27. North Carolina (4-0) 425 - 28. N.C. Greensboro (8-0) 423 - 29. Oklahoma (3-1) 420 28 30. Ohio St. (0-0) 416 29
"LOUISVILLE SLUGGER'S" NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
* LHP Matt Campbell, South Carolina: Campbell held Duquesne hitless into the eighth inning as he settled for a 1-hitter through eight innings. The only hit was a bloop single to left field in a 9-0 shutout. He finished the game with a career-high nine strikeouts. He also posted his first save of the season in a 7-5 win over The Citadel with five strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings. For the week, he pitched 9 1/3 innings with 14 strikeouts, did not allow a run and only surrendered one hit.
* 1B C.J. Smith, Florida: Smith had a remarkable week as he belted 3 home runs, went 8-for-12 at the plate with 8 runs scored, collected 9 RBI and picked up 5 extra base hits in 4 games. He had a slugging percentage of 1.583 with 19 total bases and had an on-base percentage of .778.
The 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 Feb. 23.
1. FLORIDA STATE (11-1) Last poll: 2 Poll points: 974 (21 No. 1 votes)
2. ARIZONA STATE (21-1) Last poll: 4 Poll points: 938 (11)
3. GEORGIA TECH (6-0) Last poll: 3 Poll points: 926 (4).
4. CAL STATE FULLERTON (11-1) Last poll: 5 Poll points: 915 (5).
5. RICE (8-1) Last poll: 6 Poll points: 870.
6. TEXAS (12-3) Last poll: 1 Poll points: 863
7. SOUTH CAROLINA (8-1) Last poll: 8 Poll points: 750.
8. STANFORD (9-6) Last poll: 9 Poll points: 704.
9. BAYLOR (8-3) Last poll: 11 Poll points: 691.
10. WAKE FOREST (4-1) Last poll: 10 Poll points: 646.
11. LONG BEACH STATE (8-4) Last poll: 13 Poll points: 573.
12. AUBURN (8-3) Last poll: 16 Poll points: 463.
13. MIAMI (7-2) Last poll: 20 Poll points: 364.
14. MISSISSIPPI STATE (2-1) Last poll: 15 Poll points: 362.
15. RICHMOND (2-0) Last poll: 18 Poll points: 354.
16. NEBRASKA (4-2) Last poll: 19 Poll points: 332.
17. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (5-6) Last poll: 7 Poll points: 323.
18. CLEMSON (1-2) Last poll: 12 Poll points: 320.
19. FLORIDA (8-1) Last poll: 23 Poll points: 272.
20. NOTRE DAME (2-2) Last poll: 14 Poll points: 245.
21. LSU (6-4) Last poll: 17 Poll points: 228.
22. TEXAS TECH (10-4) Last poll: 22 Poll points: 148.
23. WICHITA STATE (9-1) Last poll: NR Poll points: 141.
24. TULANE (8-1) Last poll: NR Poll points: 139.
25. NORTH CAROLINA (4-0) Last poll: NR Poll points: 102.
Dropped out: No. 21 Houston (3-6, 1-2 last week), No. 24 Florida International (12-3, 2-2 last week), No. 25 California (10-5, 2-2 last week).
Others receiving votes: Tennessee (100), Kansas (100), Houston (75), Florida International (72), Alabama (66), Texas A&M (58), California (56), Arkansas (30), UNLV (18), North Carolina Greensboro (16), Coastal Carolina (14), Oklahoma (13), Arizona (13), Southern Mississippi (12), Southwest Missouri State (11), Florida Atlantic (7), Ohio State (6), Louisville (5), Texas Christian (5), South Florida (3), Oklahoma State (2).
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