Tigers Move Up in All Three Baseball Polls |
TUCSON, Ariz. - The University of Texas (10-1) has been
ranked No. 1 for the fourth straight time in "Collegiate Baseball" newspaper's NCAA Division I baseball poll. The defending national champions, which have won seven straight games, are off to their best start since Texas' 1995 ball club opened at 15-0. The Longhorns are averaging nine runs per game on offense with 28 stolen bases in 34 attempts while the pitching staff has a 2.82 ERA with 81 strikeouts and only 27 walks. Poll Notes: The biggest upset last week was perennial national powerhouse Louisiana St. losing three straight games at home to Kansas. The Jayhawks became the first non-conference team to win a series from LSU in Baton Rouge and sweep a non-conference series over the Tigers since Houston won three straight in Baton Rouge Feb. 25-27, 2000. The Tigers slipped from sixth last week to 12th this week. Kansas made their first appearance in the poll this season at 21st. One of the hottest teams in the nation continues to be Arizona St. The Sun Devils are off to a 17-1 start which ties the school record (dating back to 1975) for the best start to a season. ASU was also 17-1 in 1978 and 1988. The Sun Devils have never started a season 18-1. 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
* 1B Ian Bladergroen, Lamar C.C. (Lamar, Col.): The 2002
first team All-American kicked off the 2003 season with a
bang as he belted 6 home runs over four games against Colby C.C. and Seward County C.C. He was 8-for-14 at the plate with 13 RBI and posted a slugging percentage of 1.929.
* C Jeff Clement, Southern California: Clement cracked four home runs in three games against South Alabama as he went 7-for-12 at the plate with 8 RBI and tallied a 1.462 slugging percentage.
* RHP Sean Rierson, Arizona: Rierson hurled a 2-hit shutout against U.C. Irvine in a 6-0 win. Both hits were infield singles as he needed only 104 pitches to put away the Anteaters without giving up a walk. What makes the accomplishment even more noteworthy is that he entered the game with a 14.14 ERA and an opponent's batting average of .500. It was the second shutout of his college career as he struck out five batters.
Baseball America's College Top 25
DURHAM, N.C.--Georgia Tech swept a season-opening doubleheader on the road to remain atop Baseball America's Top 25 college baseball rankings.
The Yellow Jackets went to Statesboro, Ga., and beat rival Georgia Southern in a pair of games, extending their winning streak in the series to 19 games. It was enough to stay atop a strong field, as the first seven schools in the rankings held in place. Of note, No. 2 Rice won three of its first four games, while No. 6 Cal State Fullerton lost for the first time after winning its first eight.
The rest of the rankings saw plenty of movement. Louisiana State fell six spots after being swept at home by unranked Kansas, which entered the series at 6-3 with losses at Hawaii-Hilo and Arkansas-Little Rock. Also tumbling was Houston, the preseason No. 11 club but now ranked 20th after a 2-4 start.
A pair of clubs entered the rankings at the expense of South Alabama and Florida Atlantic. Florida International, which beat the Owls in a midweek contest, came in with a 10-1 record at No. 22. Mississippi, ranked 30th in BA's preseason top 50, comes in at No. 25 after sweeping a pair from Louisiana Tech to open the season.
Baseball America's staff determines the Top 25 rankings, and records are through games of Feb. 16.
Team Overall Last Week Previous
1. Georgia Tech 2-0 2-0 1
2. Rice 3-1 3-1 2
3. Florida State 8-1 3-0 3
4. Texas 10-1 5-0 4
5. Arizona State 17-1 3-0 5
6. Cal State Fullerton 8-1 2-1 6
7. Wake Forest 2-1 2-1 7
8. Southern California 5-2 3-0 9
9. Baylor 4-3 2-1 10
10. Stanford 6-5 3-0 11
11. Notre Dame 0-0 0-0 12
12. South Carolina 4-1 2-0 14
13. Long Beach State 6-3 3-0 16
14. Louisiana State 4-3 1-3 8
15. Richmond 0-0 0-0 15
16. Auburn 6-1 4-0 21
17. Mississippi State 0-0 0-0 17
18. Clemson 0-0 0-0 19
19. Nebraska 2-1 2-1 20
20. Houston 2-4 1-2 13
21. North Carolina 0-0 0-0 22
22. Florida International 10-1 4-0 NR
23. Stetson 3-3 2-2 18
24. Tulane 5-1 2-1 25
25. Mississippi 2-0 2-0 NR
Dropped Out: South Alabama (No. 23), Florida Atlantic (No. 24).
The Sports Weekly/ESPN Top 25 College Baseball 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. 16.
1. TEXAS (10-1) Last poll: 1 Poll points: 987 (29 No. 1 votes). 2. FLORIDA STATE (8-1) Last poll: 2 Poll points: 957 (1). 3. GEORGIA TECH (2-0) Last poll: 3 Poll points: 926 (5). 4. ARIZONA STATE (17-1) Last poll: 6 Poll points: 894 (1). 5. CAL STATE FULLERTON (8-1) Last poll: 5 Poll points: 873 (4). 6. RICE (3-1) Last poll: 4 Poll points: 832 (1) 7. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (5-2) Last poll: 9 Poll points: 750. 8. SOUTH CAROLINA (4-1) Last poll: 8 Poll points: 730. 9. STANFORD (6-5) Last poll: 12 Poll points: 558. 10. WAKE FOREST (2-1) Last poll: 10 Poll points: 548. 11. BAYLOR (4-3) Last poll: 11 Poll points: 547. 12. CLEMSON (0-0) Last poll: 14 Poll points: 517. 13. LONG BEACH STATE (6-3) Last poll: 15 Poll points: 495. 14. NOTRE DAME (0-0) Last poll: 13 Poll points: 463. 15. MISSISSIPPI STATE (0-0) Last poll: 16 Poll points: 439. 16. AUBURN (6-1) Last poll: 20 Poll points: 323. 17. LSU (4-3) Last poll: 7 Poll points: 302. 18. RICHMOND (0-0) Last poll: 18 Poll points: 298. 19. NEBRASKA (2-1) Last poll: 19 Poll points: 285. 20. MIAMI (4-2) Last poll: 21 Poll points: 280. 21. HOUSTON (2-4) Last poll: 17 Poll points: 242. 22. TEXAS TECH (8-2) Last poll: NR Poll points: 133. 23. FLORIDA (4-1) Last poll: NR Poll points: 112. 24. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL (10-1) Last poll: NR Poll points: 103. 25. CALIFORNIA (8-3) Last poll: NR Poll points: 96.
Dropped out: No. 22 South Alabama (0-4, 0-4 last week), No. 23 Florida Atlantic (6-3, 1-3 last week), No. 24 Stetson (3-3, 2-2 last week), No. 25 North Carolina (0-0).
Others receiving votes: Tennessee (95), North Carolina (85), Tulane (81), Alabama (60), Wichita State (49), Texas A&M (41), Stetson (24), Arizona (24), Kansas (23), Oklahoma State (23), UNLV (20), Arkansas (19), Florida Atlantic (13), Coastal Carolina (13), Texas Christian (11), Southwest Missouri State (11), Washington (10), Oklahoma (8), East Carolina (5), North Carolina-Greensboro (5), South Alabama (4), Louisville (4), Minnesota (3), Ohio State (2), Pepperdine (1), Mississippi (1).
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