Tigers ranked in top ten both baseball polls |
DURHAM, N.C. – Florida’s third straight series sweep kept the Gators atop the Baseball America Top 25 for the fourth week in a row despite their first loss of the season in midweek action.
The top five was largely unchanged, though then-No. 5 UCLA’s second straight series loss dropped the Bruins to No. 13. Texas moved into the top five for the first time this year with a home series win against then-No. 9 Stanford. ACC favorites Florida State and Clemson each used victories against Southeastern Conference rivals to move into the top 10. The Seminoles and Tigers were the only new entries to the top 10. The middle of the poll saw some large movements. Then-No. 15 Oregon fell out of the poll completely after a disappointing 1-3 week that left the 5-6 Ducks below the .500 mark. North Carolina replaced the Ducks at No. 15, jumping eight spots after a 5-0 week and 11-1 start. After a rough start to the season, Connecticut righted the ship with a 2-0 week, including a win against then-No. 14 California in the University of San Diego Tournament. The Huskies were one of six teams that moved up at least three spots in this week’s rankings. Tulane and Georgia Tech are the rankings’ two new teams. Behind strong pitching performances the Green Wave went on the road to beat Mississippi in a weekend series, their third straight weekend series victory. Georgia Tech also is undefeated in weekend series after sweeping Rutgers. The Pac-10 and ACC are tied for the most teams ranked in the Top 25 with five each. The staff of Baseball America determines the Top 25 rankings. Records indicated are through games of March 6 and do not include ties. Dropped Out: Oregon (15), UC Irvine (25) FLORIDA NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL TUCSON, Ariz. - The University of Florida has been ranked No. 1 for the third straight week in "Collegiate Baseball" newspaper's NCAA Division I baseball poll. The Gators (10-1) lost to Florida St. last week, 5-3 but then rebounded with a 3-game sweep at home of Miami, Fla. It marked Florida's first-ever sweep of Miami in Gainesville. The Gators have now extended their home winning streak to 24 games at McKethan Stadium. Florida's pitching staff has a 1.27 ERA and a 57:8 strikeout to walk ratio in 56 2/3 innings. No. 2 Oklahoma (14-0) is off to its best start in school history, topping a 12-0 start in 1998. The 14 consecutive wins is the longest streak since 1985 when the Sooners won 19 straight. Poll Notes: Outside of Oklahoma's 14-game winning streak, Cal. St. Bakersfield has won 10 in a row, James Madison 7 straight, Cal. St. Fullerton 6 consecutive, North Carolina 5 in a row and Louisville five straight. Five teams fell out of the top 30 this week, including Oregon (1-3 last week), Miami, Fla. (0-4), Mississippi (3-2), California (1-3), and San Jose St. (2-2). New to the top 30 is Stetson (9-1), James Madison (11-1), Tulane (9-3), Nebraska (8-4) and Cal. St. Bakersfield (11-2). In key series last week, Clemson and South Carolina split two games, Nebraska knocked off UCLA two of three, Texas beat Stanford two of three, Tulane beat Mississippi two of three and Cal. St. Bakersfield won the Coca Cola Classic in Surprise, Ariz. with four straight wins, including a 2-1 victory over Arizona St. 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 * RHP Kyle Fitzpatrick, Florida International: Fitzpatrick threw the fifth no-hitter in school history during a 4-0, 9-inning complete game shutout over Northeastern. He faced one batter over the minimum, allowed one walk and struck out five. During one stretch, Fitzpatrick retired 16 consecutive batters. It was the first no-hitter at Florida International since 1983. * RHP Trevor Bauer, UCLA: Bauer fanned 17 Nebraska batters in 10 innings but did not record a decision. He limited the Cornhuskers to one run on four hits as UCLA ultimately lost a 2-1 decision in 12 innings. Bauer's career-high strikeout number came in 33-degree weather at Nebraska's Haymarket Field in Lincoln, Neb. * LHP Ziggie Vanderwall, Southern Arkansas: Vanderwall made his first career start a mem-orable one as he racked up a school record 17 strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings during a 4-3 win over LSU-Shreveport. At one point, he retired 16 consecutive hitters. * LHP Nick Gillung, Mercyhurst: Gillung struck out 15 of the 25 batters he faced in six innings of work during a 10-3 win over Palm Beach Atlantic.
Rk. Team W-L Last Week Prev.
1. Florida 10-1 3-1 1
2. Vanderbilt 11-1 4-0 2
3. Oklahoma 14-0 5-0 3
4. South Carolina 8-1 2-1 4
5. Texas 7-4 2-1 6
6. Cal State Fullerton 8-3 4-0 7
7. TCU 7-4 3-1 8
8. Florida State 10-1 3-1 11
9. Arizona State 9-2 3-1 10
10. Clemson 7-2 2-1 12
11. Virginia 12-1 6-0 13
12. Stanford 6-5 2-2 9
13. UCLA 7-4 2-2 5
14. Arizona 9-2 4-1 17
15. North Carolina 11-1 5-0 23
16. Louisiana State 11-1 4-1 19
17. Baylor 6-5 2-2 16
18. Rice 8-5 3-2 21
19. Connecticut 4-4 2-0 22
20. California 6-4 1-3 14
21. College of Charleston 10-2 3-2 18
22. Texas A&M 9-3 3-2 20
23. Fresno State 8-1 2-1 24
24. Tulane 9-3 4-1 NR
25. Georgia Tech 8-4 3-1 NR
NCAA Div. I Poll
(As of March 7, 2011)
Rank School (Record) Points Previous
1. Florida (10-1) 496 1
2. Oklahoma (14-0) 495 2
3. Vanderbilt (11-1) 493 3
4. Clemson (7-2) 488 4
5. Florida St. (10-1) 486 5
6. South Carolina (8-1) 483 6
7. Louisiana St. (11-1) 481 7
8. Cal. St. Fullerton (8-3) 479 13
9. Texas Christian (7-4) 477 10
10. Virginia (12-1) 475 15
11. Texas (7-4) 474 12
12. UCLA (7-4) 472 8
13. Arizona St. (9-2) 470 11
14. Texas A&M (9-3) 467 9
15. Arizona (9-2) 465 16
16. North Carolina (11-1) 464 17
17. Stanford (6-5) 463 14
18. Arkansas (10-1) 460 20
19. Wichita St. (9-2) 455 19
20. Fresno St. (8-1) 453 21
21. U.C. Irvine (8-1) 451 22
22. Louisville (8-2) 449 25
23. Rice (8-5) 447 23
24. Georgia Tech. (8-4) 443 26
25. Auburn (9-3) 439 27
26. Stetson (9-1) 436 -
27. James Madison (11-1) 434 -
28. Tulane (9-3) 430 -
29. Nebraska (8-4) 427 -
30. Ca. St. Bakersfield (11-2)425 -
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