Tigers Move Up in Collegiate Baseball Poll |
CLEMSON BASEBALL WEEKLY WRAPUP
(Week of February 16-22, 2009) Clemson University Overall Season Record: 3-0 ACC Regular-Season Record: 0-0 Last Week: 3-0 Fri. W home vs. Charlotte, 8-3 Sat. W home vs. Charlotte, 4-0 Sun. W home vs. Charlotte, 6-5 (10 Innings) Next Week Wed. Home vs. Wofford, 4:00 PM Sat. Home vs. South Carolina, 2:00 PM Sun. Away vs. South Carolina, 1:30 PM Notes Clemson swept Charlotte, the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic 10 title, in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium from February 20-22. The Tigers outscored the 49ers 18-8 and outhit them .265 to .225. Clemson also had 12 stolen bases and committed just one error. Brad Miller went 5-for-12 with a homer and four RBIs in the series, while Ben Paulsen was 4-for-10. Ten Tiger pitchers combined for a 2.57 ERA and 29 strikeouts against only four walks. Charlotte was just 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position. In game-one on February 20, Clemson stole nine bases and capitalized on six errors to defeat Charlotte 8-3. It was the most steals in a game by the Tigers since 1989. Addison Johnson, who missed all of 2008 due to injury, was 3-for-4 with three runs and three steals, while Kyle Parker was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Mike Freeman, Jeff Schaus, and Miller added two steals apiece. Clemson broke the game open with three runs in the fifth inning thanks to six steals and three 49er errors. Trey Delk pitched 5.1 innings in a starting role to earn the win. He allowed just four hits, one run, and one walk with five strikeouts, while four Tiger hurlers combined for 10 strikeouts against one walk. In game-two on February 21, Chris Dwyer pitched 6.2 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts to lead Clemson to a 4-0 win over Charlotte. In the freshman lefthander’s first career outing, Dwyer allowed just two hits and one walk in earning the victory, while Kevin Brady and Ryan Hinson combined to pitch the final 2.1 innings to close out the four-hit shutout. The three Tiger hurlers combined for 10 strikeouts against one walk and only one 49er advanced past second base. Clemson scored all four of its runs after the fifth inning, highlighted by Miller’s two-run single in the eighth inning. Miller went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Richard Mounce added a pinch-hit, run-scoring double. In game-three on February 22, Wilson Boyd hit a walkoff single in the 10th inning to give Clemson a 6-5 win over Charlotte. The Tigers trailed 5-0 before they scored three runs in the seventh inning on home runs by Paulsen and Miller. Clemson then scored two runs in the eighth inning without the benefit of a hit to tie the score. With two outs and no one on base in the 10th inning, the Tigers loaded the bases before Boyd lined a single to right-center for Clemson’s first walkoff hit since 2007. Paulsen went 3-for-4 to lead Clemson. Tomas Cruz and Hinson combined to pitch 4.0 hitless and scoreless innings in relief to close out the game, while Hinson recorded the victory. Clemson will play three games this upcoming week, a game against Wofford at home and a home-and-home weekend series against South Carolina. Collegiate Baseball Top 30 TUCSON, Ariz. - Louisiana St. University (3-0) has been ranked No. 1 in the first regular-season NCAA Division I baseball poll of the season by "Collegiate Baseball" newspaper. The Tigers swept a 3-game series at home against Villanova, 12-3, 11-1, and 6-3. The 29 runs scored by LSU were the most in an opening weekend series since 2005 when the Tigers put up 37 against Nicholls St. LSU hit 16 extra base hits in the three games and swiped 11 of 13 bases while limiting Villanova to only two stolen bases. The pitching staff was superb with 33 strikeouts and only 8 walks over the three games as it registered a 2.33 ERA. No. 2 North Carolina was every bit as impressive with a 3-game sweep at home against VMI. The Tar Heels captured the series, 13-3, 6-0 and 11-3. POLL NOTES: Florida had a great start to the 2009 season with a 3-game sweep at home against Louisville (ranked eighth in the pre-season poll). Texas Christian beat Cal. St. Fullerton two of three at home. Stanford beat Vanderbilt two of three at home. And Oklahoma swept four straight from Western Illinois. Louisville, because of its 0-3 start, fell out of the top 30. Missouri (1-3) also fell out with losses to Gonzaga (twice) and Nevada. Another key matchup saw San Diego St. beat San Diego, 3-0 in a single game Sunday. Texas completed a 4-game sweep of Illinois-Chicago. Longhorn pitchers allowed just 12 hits and 3 runs over 34 innings of work. 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
Baseball America Top 25 Rankings
DURHAM, N.C. -- Preseason No. 1 Texas A&M opened the 2009 season by sweeping Wright State, allowing the Aggies to maintain their spot atop the Baseball America Top 25 Rankings.
The top four teams in the rankings all swept their opening series and their order is unchanged. A new team entered the Top 5 in UC Irvine, which jumped up four spots after taking three games out of four on the road against Hawaii. The biggest mover of the week was Arizona State, which moved up five spots to No. 8. The Sun Devils swept four games from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with all four wins coming in lopsided fashion.
Outside of the top 10, the rankings stayed fairly stable. Georgia and Florida State each moved up two spots, to Nos. 12 and 22, while Missouri and Mississippi struggled in a pair of opening weekend tournaments and slid outside the Top 10.
Three new teams entered the rankings this week. Texas Christian posted one of the most impressive results of the weekend, winning a series on the road against then-No. 5 Cal State Fullerton. Meanwhile, Florida swept then-No. 23 Louisville and Oklahoma State swept a pair of games each against Brigham Young and Manhattan to earn its way into the Top 25.
The staff of Baseball America determines the Top 25 rankings. Records indicated are through games of Feb. 22 and do not include ties.
Rk. Team W-L Week Prev. 1. Texas A&M 4-0 4-0 1 2. Louisiana State 3-0 3-0 2 3. North Carolina 3-0 3-0 3 4. Texas 4-0 4-0 4 5. UC Irvine 3-1 3-1 9 6. Baylor 2-1 2-1 8 7. Cal State Fullerton 1-2 1-2 5 8. Arizona State 4-0 4-0 13 9. UCLA 2-1 2-1 12 10. Rice 1-2 1-2 7 11. San Diego 2-1 2-1 11 12. Georgia 3-0 3-0 14 13. Mississippi 1-2 1-2 6 14. Stanford 2-1 2-1 15 15. Missouri 1-3 1-3 10 16. Oklahoma 4-0 4-0 16 17. Pepperdine 2-1 2-1 17 18. Kent State 3-0 3-0 18 19. Clemson 3-0 3-0 19 20. Georgia Tech 3-0 3-0 20 21. Arkansas 3-0 3-0 22 22. Florida State 4-0 4-0 24 23. Texas Christian 2-1 2-1 NR 24. Florida 3-0 3-0 NR 25. Oklahoma State 4-0 4-0 NR
Dropped Out: Alabama (21), Louisville (23), Oregon State (25).
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