Collegiate Baseball Div 1 Poll (3-11-19)

FLORIDA ST. NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL

TUCSON, Ariz. — Florida St. (13-1) is ranked No. 1 in the latest Collegiate Baseball NCAA Div. I baseball poll presented by Big League Chew.

The Seminoles were 3-1 last week with a win over North Florida and victories in two of three games against Virginia Tech. The final win of the series allowed FSU Head Coach Mike Martin to celebrate his 2,000th win which is the most by any college coach in any sport.

Florida St. is ranked in nine categories within the top 10 in the latest NCAA Div. I statistics. The Seminole lead the nation in fielding percentage at .990 (5 errors in 14 games), are second in on-base percentage (.446) and third in total home runs (26). Eleven different players have hit home runs for FSU this season.

All 14 games this season have been at home for the Seminoles. Florida St. will now play eight of its next 10 games on the road.

Two teams remain unbeaten in NCAA Division I baseball in N.C. State (15-0) and Arizona State (15-0). The Wolfpack is off to its best start in school history. Arizona State’s 15-0 start is the fourth best in school history. During the 2010 season, the Sun Devils started the season 24-0.

Teams that are red-hot include: Mississippi State (11 straight wins), Alabama (11 consecutive), Auburn (9 in a row), U.C. Santa Barbara (9 consecutive) and San Diego (7 wins in last 8 games).

In key series over the past weekend, Clemson swept a 3-game series at home against North Carolina. It was the first time since 1997 that the Tigers won three straight from the Tar Heels. Stanford took three of four at home against Texas.  

Poll Notes: Four teams fell out of the top 30 in Duke (2-3 last week with two losses to Pennsylvania), Oklahoma (2-2), Michigan (1-3) and Washington (2-2). New to the poll is San Diego (12-4, 7 wins in last 8 games), U.C. Santa Barbara (11-2, 9 wins in a row), Alabama (15-2, 11 straight victories) and East Carolina (12-5, 5 wins in last 6 games including win over Ole Miss).

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 March 11, 2019)

Presented By
www.bigleaguechew.com

Collegiate Baseball’s
National Players Of The Week

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LHP Andrew Mitchel, San Jose St.: Mitchel posted 18 strikeouts during a 4-1 win over Air Force. He allowed 1 run while scattering 4 hits with 2 walks. His 18 strikeouts are the second most ever thrown by a Mountain West pitcher in a conference game, second only to Stephen Strasburg’s 23 strikeouts against Utah during the 2008 season.

OF Tucker Maxwell, Georgia: Maxwell hit 3 home runs with 15 RBI, 8 stolen bases and scored 6 runs as he went 9-for-16 at the plate over 5 games. He tied the school record with 4 stolen bases against Alabama St. on March 5 and then tied it against March 9 against Presbyterian.

RHP Noah Song, Navy: Song tied his career high with 16 strikeouts against Cornell over 7 innings. He allowed 3 hits and 1 run to pace Navy to a 2-1 win. Song leads the nation with 52 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings and also leads the country with 18.23 strikeouts per nine innings.

1B Bryce Ball, Dallas Baptist: Ball hit .429 (6-for-14) with 4 home runs and drove in 9 runs while posting a 1.286 slugging percentage and compiling 18 total bases. He also drew 5 walks.

LHP Chris Gerard, Virginia Tech.: The freshman southpaw was brilliant against No. 1 Florida St. as he gave the Seminoles their only loss of the season, 6-0. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and ultimately struck out 10 batters. Gerard has thrown 17 straight innings without allowing an earned run to lower his ERA to 0.43.

1B Tony Ortiz, Missouri: Ortiz paced the Tigers with 3 home runs, 8 RBI, 14 total bases and 5 runs scored. After only hitting one home run a season ago, he established a new single-season career high in just one weekend.

RHP Trever Kilcrease, Nicholls St.: Kilcrease struck out a career-high 14 batters and carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against New Orleans. After issuing a walk in the ninth, the no-hit bid was broken up with one out

3B Jacob Olson, South Carolina: Olson belted 3 home runs and 3 doubles while hitting .522 last week. His most memorable hit was a walk-off solo home run to give the Gamecocks a 3-2 win over Valparaiso.

LHP Jake Kuchmaner, East Carolina: Kuchmaner was one strike away from a no-hitter during a 3-2 win over Mississippi before giving up a single. He struck out a career-high 9 batters and retired the first 13 batters he faced.

1B Jason Hinchman, Tennessee Tech.: Hinchman hit 4 home runs with 9 RBI and 9 runs scored over 4 games last week.  

LHP Logan Allen, Florida International: Allen reached double-digit strikeouts for the third consecutive game, fanning 11 Seton Hall batters in a 1-0 shutout. He allowed only 1 hit and 1 walk in 7 innings.

C Kyle McCann, Georgia Tech.: McCann belted 4 home runs with 2 doubles and 10 RBI over 5 games. He also drew 6 walks as he had an on-base percentage of .542.