OREGON ST. NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL 

TUCSON, Ariz. — Oregon St. (8-0) is ranked No. 1 in Collegiate Baseball’s NCAA Div. I baseball poll presented by Big League Chew bubble gum.

The Beavers slipped past Florida, last week’s top ranked team, by a point after starting the season unbeaten. Last week Oregon St. posted  two wins over Ohio St., two victories over Nebraska and a win over New Mexico. All eight games have been on the road.

Oregon St. is hitting .365 as a team with 7 homers, 18 doubles and 3 triples through eight contests. The pitching staff has a 3.12 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 23 walks.

No. 2 Florida has been outstanding as well. The Gators (7-1) beat Florida Atlantic, Bethune-Cookman and took two of three at Miami (Fla.) last week. The Gators have a team ERA of 2.03 with 74 strikeouts and 16 walks. Defensively, Florida has only made five errors in eight games.

Poll Notes: In key matchups, East Carolina took two of three against North Carolina, Texas Christian won two of three at home against Long Beach St., Clemson swept three from Dallas Baptist, UCLA took two of three at home against Baylor, Stanford swept four from Rice at home and LSU took two of three at home against Texas. San Diego had a superb week as the Toreros beat San Diego St., Michigan, Grand Canyon, Arkansas and Arizona.

Five teams fell out of the poll which includes North Carolina (1-4 last week), Louisiana-Lafayette (1-3), Miami (1-3), Arizona (1-3) and Notre Dame (2-2). New to the poll is San Diego (6 straight wins), St. John’s (7-0), Indiana (6 in a row), East Carolina (6-1) and Alabama (7-0).

Three teams have won eight in a row (Oregon St., Stanford and Auburn). Eight teams are on 7-game winning streaks (Florida St., Texas Tech., Clemson, Louisville, Texas A&M, Mississippi, St. John’s and Alabama).

The Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1959 college baseball season.

Collegiate Baseball’s
NCAA Div. I Baseball Poll
(As of Feb. 26, 2018)

Presented By
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Collegiate Baseball’s
National Players Of The Week

RHP Joe DeMers, Washington: DeMers fired the first perfect game in University of Washington history during an 8-0 win over U.C. Riverside. He required only 84 pitches to set all 27 Highlander batters down in order. He struck out nine and reached a 3-ball count just once. It was just the fifth perfect game in Pac-12 Conference history.

LHP Mitchell Senger, Stetson: Senger fired a no-hitter during a 3-0 win over George Washington and struck out 16 batters over nine innings. He walked one and hit two batters while throwing 109 pitches.

RHP Riley Johnson, North Dakota St.: Johnson tossed a no-hitter during a 2-0 win over Central Connecticut St. and became the first pitcher at the school to throw a no-no since the 2004 season. Johnson struck out a career-high 8 batters and walked one over nine innings.

RHP Noah Song, Navy: Song struck out 16 batters over 6 innings against Air Force. Over the first four innings, all 12 outs were via the strikeout. Song’s performance ranks fifth all-time in the Navy record book, and he is just one of three pitchers to reach the 16-strikeout milestone in a game since 1968.

RHP Seamus Brazill, Hofstra: Brazill threw the first no-hitter in program history during a 1-0 win at Lamar. He struck out 5 in the 7-inning game and threw 104 pitches.

OF Brett Kinneman, N.C. State: Kinneman had a monster week at the plate over five games as he belted 5 home runs and knocked in 15 runs as he went 13-for-21. He hit for the home run cycle as he hit a grand slam, 3-run circuit clout, 2-run homer and two solo shots.

OF Keegan McGovern, Georgia: McGovern belted 5 home runs with 9 RBI, 9 runs scored and went 8-for-14 at the plate with four walks. He tied a school record by blasting three home runs to help Georgia beat Charlotte, 10-7. He is one of only eight Bulldogs to ever hit three home runs in a game and the first to do it since 2009.

UT Eric Jones, Davidson: Jones compiled 17 RBI over four games as he went 6-for-13 at the plate with 3 homers, 2 doubles and 5 runs scored. He also walked three times.

INF Ray Hernandez, Alabama St.: Hernandez belted 4 home runs with 2 doubles, 9 runs scored and 8 RBI over five games.

3B Trevor Putzig, Tennessee Tech.: Putzig went 8-for-11 over three games and belted 4 home runs, 1 double and compiled 8 RBI. During a game against Illinois St., he went 5-for-6 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI.

C/1B T.J. Collett, Kentucky: Collett hit 4 home runs and collected 11 RBI over four games last week. He became the first Wildcat player to homer in four consecutive games since 2008.

3B Alex Eliopulos, U.C. San Diego: Eliopulos hit 4 home runs, 1 double, scored 6 runs and compiled 8 RBI as he went 9-for-15 at the plate with six walks.