FLORIDA NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL

TUCSON, Ariz. — Florida (41-12) is ranked No. 1 in Collegiate Baseball’s NCAA Div. I baseball poll presented by Big League Chew bubble gum.

The Gators are on top of the poll for the sixth time this season as Florida clinched its second straight Southeastern Conference title by winning two of three against Georgia at home over the past weekend. The SEC title is the 15th in program history and fifth under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan.

Florida has belted 76 home runs over 53 games (third in the nation) while hitting 194 extra base hits. The Gators also have been superb on defense with a .982 fielding percentage (sixth in the USA) and have a 3.19 ERA with 457 strikeouts and 158 walks.

Stanford, ranked No. 1 the past three polls, slipped to third after losing two of three at Oregon St.

Poll Notes: Several teams are red-hot. Tennessee Tech. has won 35 of its last 36 and leads NCAA Division I schools in eight offensive categories (batting average: .350, scoring: 10.7 runs per game, runs: 537, hits: 656, home runs per game: 2.26, home runs: 113, slugging percentage: .615 and on-base percentage: .442).

Baylor has won 14 of its last 15, Stetson 10 in a row, N.C. State 8 straight and Cal. St. Fullerton eight of last nine.

In key series over the past weekend, Duke beat North Carolina two of three at home, Arkansas swept a 3-game series at home against Texas A&M, Washington won two of three at home against UCLA, South Carolina won two of three at home against Missouri, Mississippi swept a 3-game series against Auburn at home, Southern Mississippi lost two of three at home against Louisiana Tech., Oklahoma St. lost two of three at Baylor, Michigan lost two of three at home against Illinois, St. John’s won two of three at Seton Hall, Minnesota won two of three at home against Michigan St., Houston won two of three at Connecticut, Oklahoma won two of three at Central Florida, Stetson swept a 3-game series at Florida Gulf Coast, Louisiana St. won two of three at home against Alabama while Missouri St. swept a 3-game series at home against Southern Illinois.

Three teams fell out of the top 30 in UCLA (lost 6 of last 7), Texas A&M (lost 5 of last 6) and Auburn (lost three at Mississippi). New to the poll is Baylor (won 14 of last 15), Louisiana St. (won 5 of last 6) and Missouri St. (won 6 straight).

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 May 14, 2018)

Rank Team (Record) Points PVS 1. Florida (41-12) 495 2 2. Oregon St. (38-8-1) 493 4 3. Stanford (39-8) 492 1 4. Clemson (39-13) 488 5 5. Arkansas (36-15) 484 6 6. North Carolina (34-16) 482 3 7. N.C. State (39-12) 481 7 8. Georgia (35-16) 479 9 9. Duke (38-12) 478 10 10. Mississippi (39-13) 476 12 11. South Carolina (30-21) 473 11 12. St. John’s (34-12) 469 17 13. Southern Mississippi (36-14) 467 13 14. Oklahoma St. (29-19-1) 466 14 15. Minnesota (34-13) 464 18 16. Texas (33-18) 463 16 17. Michigan (32-16) 460 15 18. Tennessee Tech. (44-6) 457 22 19. Texas Tech. (35-15) 454 19 20. Houston (31-20) 452 20 21. East Carolina (37-13) 451 21 22. Florida St. (37-16) 448 25 23. Stetson (40-11) 447 27 24. Coastal Carolina (36-16) 446 28 25. Louisville (37-15) 444 29 26. Oklahoma (33-19) 442 26 27. Baylor (30-18) 439 — 28. Louisiana St. (31-21) 437 — 29. Missouri St. (33-14) 434 — 30. Cal. St. Fullerton (27-21) 428 30

Collegiate Baseball’s

National Players Of The Week

INF/DH Grant Mathews, Tulane: Mathews hit 4 home runs over 3 games against Memphis as he went 8-for-12, scored 4 runs and produced 5 RBI. He set a school record with 3 home runs in 1 game against Memphis, and he recorded at least 2 hits in each game.

LHP Luke Heimlich, Oregon St.: Heimlich set a career-high with 14 strikeouts during a 6-2 win over Stanford. He only allowed 3 hits over eight innings of work and picked up his 12th win of the season as he pushed his season strikeout total to 115.

OF Trey Bridis, Youngstown St.: Bridis hit 4 home runs with 6 RBI as he collected 12 hits over 5 games. He also scored 10 runs and had 25 total bases, 5 walks and 3 stolen bases. He collected at least one hit in all 5 games and had at least 3 hits in three contests.

C Spencer Holcomb, Western Carolina: Holcomb collected 4 home runs over 4 games as he went 10-for-18 at the plate with 6 RBI and 8 runs scored. He homered in 4 consecutive games.

1B Rudy Rott, Ohio: Rott hit 4 home runs with 9 RBI, 8 runs scored and collected 8 hits over four games. He has hit 7 home runs over his past 8 games.

OF Will Watson, Maryland: Watson tied a school record with 8 RBI against Rutgers. He hit 2 home runs in the third inning and recorded 7 RBI in that frame which set a school record and tied for the second most in NCAA Division I history. Over four games, he hit .500, racked up 12 RBI, scored 6 runs and collected 3 home runs.

C Stephen Scott, Vanderbilt: Scott belted 3 home runs with 16 total bases, 6 runs scored and went 5-for-11 at the plate as he recorded 3 RBI over 4 games.

DH Ryan Glass, Georgia St.: Glass hit 3 home runs over 4 games as he went 5-for-15 with 5 RBI.

SS Will Wilson, N.C. State: Wilson went 11-for-20 at the plate with 4 doubles, 1 home run and 12 RBI over 5 games. On defense, he had 5 assists, 2 putouts and did not commit an error.

DH Joe Wainhous, Washington: Wainhous hit 3 home runs in 3 games against UCLA as he went 7-for-14 with 7 RBI and 5 runs scored. He has now hit 5 home runs over his last 5 games.

SS Logan Davidson, Clemson: Davidson belted 3 home runs, 3 doubles and collected 8 RBI as he went 9-for-21 over 5 games.