Collegiate Baseball Div 1 Poll (3-22-21)

VANDERBILT NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL

TUCSON, Ariz. — Vanderbilt (15-3) is ranked No. 1 for the first time this season in Collegiate Baseball’s NCAA Division I baseball poll presented by Big League Chew bubble gum.

The Commodores, who have been ranked second in the nation the previous five polls, have won 12 of their last 14 games and took two of three against South Carolina over the past weekend.

Commodore pitcher Kumar Rocker struck out 14 batters in game one. Jack Leiter followed with a 16-strikeout no-hitter in game two. Vanderbilt added 10 more strikeouts in game three for 40 during the 3-game series.

On the season, the Commodore pitching staff has struck out 227 for an average of 12.6 per game.

In key series over the past weekend, Florida St. swept a 3-game series at Miami, Fla. The Seminoles outscored the Hurricanes, 34-2. Arkansas took two of three against Alabama. Florida swept a 3-game series against Texas A&M. Texas Tech. won two of three against Oklahoma St. Mississippi St. took two of three at Louisiana St. Tennessee beat Georgia two of three. Oregon beat Arizona St. two of three. UCLA took two of three against Arizona at home.

Poll Notes: Several teams have been red-hot. Florida St. has won 5 in a row, including a win over Florida and three at Miami, Fla. in its last four games. Hawaii and San Diego have each won 10 of their last 11.

Four teams fell out of the top 30 in Miami, Fla. (1-3 last week), South Carolina (1-3), Texas A&M (1-3) and U.C. Santa Barbara (2-2). New to the poll is Florida St. (10-6), Stanford (12-3), San Diego (13-4) and Hawaii (11-3).

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 22, 2021)
Presented By
www.bigleaguechew.com

Collegiate Baseball’s
National Players Of The Week
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RHP Jack Leiter, Vanderbilt: Leiter pitched a 9-inning no-hitter against South Carolina with 16 strikeouts during a 5-0 win. He walked the first batter of the game on a full count and then retired 27 batters in a row. Of his 124 pitches, 81 were strikes.

SS Justin Guerrera, Fairfield: Guerrera belted 4 home runs while driving in 9 runs and scoring 7 runs during a 4-game sweep over Canisius. He became the third Stag ever to homer 3 times in one game. He was 8-for-15 at the plate and led Fairfield with 3 stolen bases.

RHP Kumar Rocker, Vanderbilt: Rocker fanned 14 South Carolina hitters in 8 innings as he picked up a 3-2 win. Of the 116 pitches he threw, 82 were strikes.

RF Freddy Rojas, Jr., Texas Rio Grande Valley: Rojas homered in 4 straight games during a series against Dixie State. He finished 5-for-14 with 4 homers, 1 double, 4 walks, 10 RBI and 5 runs scored.

LHP Kobe Foster, Tennessee Wesleyan: Foster struck out 16 batters in 8 innings of work during a 6-1 win over Columbia International. He didn’t walk a batter and only allowed 2 hits and 1 earned run.

OF Zerek Saenz, New Mexico St.: Saenz was 17-for-23 in 5 games for the Aggies as he hit .739. Saenz hit 3 doubles, 2 triples and recorded 10 RBI with 2 stolen bases and 10 runs scored.

RHP Carlos Tavera, Texas Arlington: Tavera pitched 7-innings against South Alabama and didn’t allow a hit as he struck out 11 batters.