Collegiate Baseball Div. I Poll 3-24-14

LOUISIANA NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL

TUCSON, Ariz. — Louisiana-Lafayette is ranked No. 1 for the first time in Collegiate Baseball’s NCAA Division I baseball poll presented by Big League Chew bubble gum.

South Carolina, ranked No. 1 the past three weeks, slipped to second after losing two of three at Kentucky.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (22-2) have won 12 in a row and feature a pitching staff with a 2.30 ERA, 180 strikeouts and only 64 walks over 24 games. On offense, the team has belted 28 homers, 52 doubles and 11 triples while hitting .303 as a team and averaging 7.5 runs per game. Louisiana-Lafayette has stolen 40 bases while limiting opponents to only 9. The 22-2 start is the best in school history.

Louisiana-Lafayette has already beaten Louisiana St. in Baton Rouge, La. and took two of three from Alabama in earlier series. Over the past weekend, the Ragin’ Cajuns swept a 3-game set from Georgia St.

Poll Notes: Several other teams have been red-hot. Rice has won nine in a row, Virginia Commonwealth eight consecutive, Houston eight of its last nine and Washington six straight and 13 of its last 14. It was an unusual week in the top 30 as 15 teams lost two or more games. In the top 10 alone, five teams, including four of the top five, lost twice.

In key series last week, Florida St. won two of three at Clemson, Vanderbilt lost two of three at Mississippi St., Virginia split its first two games at Miami (Fla.), Oregon St. lost two of three at home to Arizona St., Louisiana St. won two and tied one at home against Georgia, N.C. State was swept at Maryland three straight, North Carolina lost two of three at home against Georgia Tech., Tennessee lost two of three at home to Auburn, and Baylor beat Oklahoma St. two of three.

Six teams fell out of the top 30, including San Diego (1-4 last week), Kansas (2-3), Oklahoma St. (2-2), Sam Houston St. (0-4), Alabama (3-2) and Texas Christian (1-3). New to the poll is Kentucky (won 2 of 3 against South Carolina), Houston (won 8 of last 9), Washington (won 6 in row and 13 of last 14), Maryland (won 5 in row), Virginia Commonwealth (won 8 in row) and Baylor (won 5 of last 7).

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 24, 2014)www.buybigleaguechew.com 

National Players Of The Week

• RHP Frankie Vanderka, Stony Brook: Vanderka threw his third career no-hitter during a 7-0 win over Albany. He struck out 10 batters and walked two. 

• 1B/OF Michael Katz, William & Mary: Katz was 9-for-12 with 3 homers, 2 doubles, 12 RBI and 9 runs scored. He finished the week with a .765 on-base percentage and a 1.667 slugging percentage. On the season, Katz is hitting .408 with 12 homers and 47 RBI.   

• LHP/OF Aaron Brown, Pepperdine: Brown had a remarkable game against Santa Clara in a 10-0 win for the Waves. He not only tossed eight scoreless innings which included 7 strikeouts. But he also hit a pair of homers and drove in 4 runs.

• RHP Jake Stinnett, Maryland: Stinnett struck out a career-high 14 batters during a 10-0 win over N.C. State. His 14 strikeouts are the most by a Terrapin pitcher since 2008. He struck out nine of the first 17 batters he faced.