Collegiate Baseball Div. I Poll 3-16-15

TCU NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL

TUCSON, Ariz. — Texas Christian (14-2) is ranked No. 1 for the fifth straight Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division I poll presented by Big League Chew bubble gum.

The Horned Frogs, which have won six straight, beat Baylor three times at home over the weekend and are 3-0 in the Big 12 Conference. The Horned Frogs have a 1.61 team ERA as the pitching staff has struck out 137 batters with only 27 walks over 16 games.

The defense has only committed 9 errors for a .986 fielding percentage and has limited opponents to just 8 stolen bases.

In key series over the past weekend, Virginia was swept three straight at Virginia Tech., California took two of three at home against Oregon, Indiana swept three at home against Cal. St. Fullerton, UCLA won two of three at home against Washington, Arizona St. won two of three at home against Oregon St., Notre Dame won two of three at Clemson and Texas A&M won three straight at home against Auburn.

Poll Notes: Several teams have been red-hot. Texas A&M is unbeaten at 21-0, Campbell has won 14 straight, South Carolina and Indiana 10 in a row, California 14 of its last 16, San Diego 8 of its last 9 and Rice 7 consecutive.

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

Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division I Poll
(As of March 16, 2015)
www.bigleaguechew.com

National Players Of The Week

• RHP Chris Chism, Tennessee Tech.: Chism struck out 17 Tennessee Martin batters during a 2-0, 1-hit win. After giving up a single to start the game, Chism settled down to retire the next 23 batters as he amassed 13 strikeouts over that span. His 17 strikeouts were two behind the school record of 19 and were the most by a Golden Eagle pitcher in nearly 30 years.
  
• C/1B/DH Luke Lowery, East Carolina: Lowery belted 4 home runs with 13 RBI and 8 runs scored over 5 games as he went 9-for-18 at the plate. He hit home runs in 4 of the 5 contests. He has had at least 1 RBI in 11 consecutive games.
  
• LHP Luke Gillingham, Navy: Gillingham fired a 2-hit complete game shutout with 15 strikeouts against New York Institute of Technology during a 1-0 Navy victory. After giving up two hits in the top of the first inning, he retired 19 straight batters from the first to the eighth innings with 11 by strikeouts. Gillingham leads the nation with 65 strikeouts over 38 innings.
  
• RHP Grant Bennett, Troy: Bennett struck out 14 batters en route to a 6-1 win over Georgia Southern. He took a perfect game into the eighth inning before giving up four hits over the final two frames. He didn’t walk a batter as he became the first Trojan to fan 14 batters since Mike Felix during the 2006 season.
  
• SS Dylan Moore, Central Florida: Moore collected 13 hits over 5 games as he belted 4 home runs with 10 RBI. For good measure, he also was 3-for-3 in stolen bases.
  
• LHP Kyle Cedotal, Southeastern Louisiana: Cedotal struck out a career-high 14 batters during an 11-0, 7-inning win against Abilene Christian. He needed only 77 pitches for the complete game shutout, throwing 56 for strikes.
  
• CF Ryan Blanton, Georgia State: Blanton went 11-for-16 with 3 home runs, 6 RBI and 6 runs scored over three games. He had a slugging percentage of 1.375.
  
• RHP Alex Lange, Louisiana St.: Lange struck out a career-high 13 batters in eight innings of work against Mississippi. He limited the Rebels to one earned run on three hits and no walks.
  
• RHP Trey Killian, Arkansas: Killian, in just his second start of the year since coming back from an injury, tossed 7 perfect innings against Vanderbilt with 6 strikeouts before being lifted due to his pitch count. He retired all 21 batters he faced, threw 83 pitches and never went to a 3-ball count on a hitter.
  
• DH Bradley Haslam, Air Force: Haslam was 10-for-12 over four games with 5 doubles, 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. He went 5-for-5 with 3 doubles against Adams State for Air Force’s first 5-hit game in 5 years.
  
• RHP Xavier Altamirano, Oral Roberts: Altamirano struck out 14 North Dakota State hitters in a 4-3 win over seven innings of work. He didn’t allow a walk. His 14 strikeouts are the most by an Oral Roberts pitcher since the 2009 season.