Tigers tumble in baseball polls |
DURHAM, N.C.—Another weekend sweep by Florida kept the Gators No. 1 in the Baseball America Top 25 for the fifth straight week and tied the school's best 16-game start.
The top five remained unchanged with each team winning its weekend series. No. 3 Oklahoma was dealt its first loss of the season Sunday, becoming the last school in Division I to lose. Virginia and Louisiana State used series sweeps against then-top 10 schools to move into the top 10 for the first time this year. The Cavaliers and Tigers were the only new entries to the top 10. Baylor and California both went undefeated last week to climb three and five spots, respectively. The Golden Bears used a win against then-No. 18 Rice to vault to No. 15 this week. After starting the year on a torrid streak, North Carolina was handed back-to-back losses on the road by Wake Forrest, ending its eight-game winning streak. The Tar Heels dropped three spots to No. 18. After moving into the Top 25 last week, Tulane and Georgia Tech both improved to a perfect 4-0 in weekend series and moved up in the rankings. UCLA continued its tumble, losing its third straight weekend series. The Bruins have fallen from No. 2 in the preseason rankings to No. 24 this week. UCLA wasn't the only high-profile team with a poor week. Cal State Fullerton, Clemson and Rice all dropped at least six spots after losing weeks. 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 13 and do not include ties.
Rk. Team W-L Last Prev.
FLORIDA NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL
TUCSON, Ariz. - The University of Florida has been ranked No. 1 for the
fourth straight week in "Collegiate Baseball" newspaper's NCAA Division I
baseball poll.
The Gators (14-2) were 4-1 last week with a loss to Georgia Southern, a
victory over South Florida and three wins over Rhode Island. Florida equaled
its most wins through 16 games in school history which was last done in
1992.
No. 2 Oklahoma (16-1) won 16 straight games to start the season before
falling in its last game to Arkansas-Little Rock. Their 16-0 start was the
best in program history and tied for the best start by a Big 12 team since
the conference formed in 1997. The only other team in the league which has
won their first 16 games was Texas in 2005.
Poll Notes: Several teams are on impressive win streaks. Virginia has won 10
in a row, Oregon St. 10 straight, Vanderbilt 9 consecutive and Georgia Tech.
7 in a row.
In key series over the past weekend, Virginia swept a 3-game series at
Clemson for the first time in school history. The Cavaliers became the first
team since 2008 to shut out the Tigers in the opener which broke a streak of
148 games that Clemson had scored at least one run. Clemson, which fell from
fourth to 16th this week, dropped all four games last week, including one to
South Carolina. Louisiana St. swept a 3-game series at home against Cal. St.
Fullerton. Arizona St. won two of three at Auburn. And Tulane won two of
three at home against Wichita St.
Four teams fell out of the top 30 in Rice (2-3 last week), James Madison
(2-2), Nebraska (1-2) and Cal. St. Bakersfield (1-3). New to the poll this
week is Oregon St. (13-3), Baylor (11-5, 6 wins in a row), College of
Charleston (14-3) and California (10-4, 4 wins in a row).
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 March 14, 2011)
Rank School (Record) Points Previous
1. Florida (14-2) 495 1
2. Oklahoma (16-1) 494 2
3. Vanderbilt (16-1) 493 3
4. Florida St. (15-1) 491 5
5. Louisiana St. (15-1) 489 7
6. Virginia (16-1) 488 10
7. South Carolina (11-2) 486 6
8. Texas (11-5) 479 11
9. Texas Christian (10-5) 477 9
10. Arizona St. (11-3) 475 13
11. Texas A&M (12-4) 473 14
12. Arizona (13-3) 470 15
13. Arkansas (13-2) 468 18
14. U.C. Irvine (12-1) 467 21
15. UCLA (8-6) 466 12
16. Clemson (7-6) 465 4
17. Cal. St. Fullerton (8-6) 464 8
18. Stanford (6-5) 463 17
19. North Carolina (14-3) 460 16
20. Fresno St. (11-2) 455 20
21. Louisville (11-3) 451 22
22. Georgia Tech. (12-4) 448 24
23. Oregon St. (13-3) 445 -
24. Auburn (11-5) 441 25
25. Tulane (11-4) 439 28
26. Wichita St. (10-4) 438 19
27. Baylor (11-5) 434 -
28. Col. of Charleston (14-3) 430 -
29. California (10-4) 428 -
30. Stetson (12-3) 426 26
LOUISVILLE SLUGGER'S" NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
* RHP Logan Verrett, Baylor: Verrett recorded 14 strikeouts in a
complete-game 1-hitter against Louisiana Tech. during a 7-0 win. He allowed
an infield single to lead off the game and then held the next 27 Louisiana
Tech. batters without a hit. He faced 28 batters in the game, one over the
minimum with one walk in the eighth inning.
* LHP Danny Hultzen, Virginia: Hultzen fanned 14 Clemson batters over 6 2/3
innings as he struck out at least two batters in six of the seven innings he
worked during a 5-0 win against the Tigers. Clemson came into the game as
the top hitting team in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a .343 batting
average.
* RHP Mark Pope, Georgia Tech.: Pope hasn't allowed a single run in 25 1/3
consecutive innings and lowered his overall ERA to 0.29 on the season. He
pitched his second straight complete game shutout during a 1-0 win over
Maryland as he struck out six. Considering he was sick the night before his
outing, the performance was amazing. Over his last five starts, he has
pitched three complete game shutouts.
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
