Clemson moves into top 15 in both baseball polls |
DURHAM, N.C. -- Virginia took two out of three on the road against East Carolina in the marquee series of college baseball's opening weekend and moved up to No. 1 in the Baseball America Top 25 rankings for the first time ever.
While Virginia, which ranked second in the preseason, was winning on the road in a tough environment at then-No. 18 East Carolina, its path to the top of the rankings was cleared when preseason No. 1 Texas was upset at home by New Mexico. The Longhorns won the opener but dropped the next two games and fell to No. 3 in the rankings, with Louisiana State moving to No. 2 after sweeping Centenary. Texas wasn't the only top 10 team upset on opening weekend. Preseason No. 4 Cal State Fullerton lost its first two games to Oregon and Pepperdine before salvaging the finale with a win against rival Long Beach State. Meanwhile, Rice went on the road to Stanford and was swept in a three-game series, the first time that's happened to the Owls in five years. Fullerton and Rice fell to No. 8 and No. 9, respectively. Since most of the preseason Top 25 teams opened the season with series wins against lesser opponents, there wasn't a lot of movement throughout the rankings. Stanford, thanks to sweeping Rice, was the only team to join the rankings this week, jumping in at No. 18. Georgia fell out of the rankings after a 2-2 weekend. The staff of Baseball America determines the Top 25 rankings. Records indicated are through games of February 21 and do not include ties.
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LOUISIANA ST. NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER POLL
TUCSON, Ariz. - Defending national champion Louisiana St. is ranked
No. 1 in the first regular season "Collegiate Baseball" newspaper NCAA
Division I baseball poll after sweeping Centenary three straight over
the past weekend.
The Tigers (3-0) took over the top spot when No. 1 pre-season
selection Texas dropped two of three at home to start the season
against New Mexico.
LSU captured its 11th straight season-opening series dating back to
2000.
In game two of the series, Tiger Head Coach Paul Mainieri celebrated
the 1,000th win of his coaching career during a 25-8 win. His 28-year
career includes stops at St. Thomas University in Miami (1983-88), Air
Force (1989-94), Notre Dame (1995-2006) and LSU (2007-present).
Poll Notes: New Mexico stunned Texas by winning two of three in Austin
against the Longhorns to start the season. It marked the first time in
school history that the Lobos had beaten a No. 1 ranked team. Prior to
the historic victories, New Mexico was 0-9 all-time when playing the
No. 1 team in the nation. All nine games were against Arizona St. After Texas won
the opener, 6-2, the Lobos captured the final two contests, 6-5 and
3-1.
Another red-hot team to start the season was Oregon. The Ducks knocked
off highly regarded Cal. St. Fullerton to start the season in
Fullerton, Calif.
and followed that off with a win at Long Beach St. before losing at
Pepperdine. New to the poll this week are New Mexico and Oregon. Two
teams dropped out in Rice (0-3) and Minnesota (2-1).
The "Collegiate Baseball" newspaper poll is the oldest college
baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1957 college baseball
season.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's NCAA Div. I Poll (As of Feb. 22, 2010) Rank School (Record) Points Previous 1. Louisiana St. (3-0) 492 2 2. Arizona St. (3-0) 490 5 3. Georgia Tech. (3-0) 488 6 4. Texas (1-2) 487 1 5. Virginia (2-1) 486 3 6. Cal. St. Fullerton (1-2) 484 4 7. Florida St. (3-0) 483 7 8. U.C. Irvine (3-0) 482 8 9. Florida (3-0) 479 9 10. Oregon St. (2-1) 476 10 11. Miami, Fla. (3-0) 473 12 12. North Carolina (3-0) 471 13 13. Ohio St. (3-0) 469 14 14. Texas Christian (3-0) 465 15 15. Clemson (3-0) 464 16 16. Louisville (3-0) 461 19 17. UCLA (3-0) 459 20 18. Stanford (3-0) 457 26 19. New Mexico (2-1) 454 - 20. Oklahoma (4-0) 451 25 21. Coastal Carolina (2-1) 449 17 22. East Carolina (1-2) 447 18 23. South Carolina (3-0) 444 28 24. San Diego (3-1) 443 24 25. Oregon (2-1) 441 - 26. Southern Miss. (2-1) 435 21 27. Wichita St. (0-0) 430 27 28. Mississippi (2-1) 429 22 29. Texas A&M (3-0) 427 29 30. Arkansas (2-1) 425 23
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