Collegiate Baseball Div 1 Poll (4-3-23)

LSU NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL 

TUCSON, Ariz. — Louisiana St. (24-4) is ranked No. 1 for the eighth straight time in Collegiate Baseball’s NCAA Division I baseball poll presented by Big League Chew bubble gum.

Last week the Tigers beat Grambling at home and then took two of three from Tennessee at home.

LSU is No. 1 in the nation in batting average (.336), on-base percentage (.457) and fielding percentage (.986, only 12 errors in 28 games). The Tigers are averaging 10.6 runs per game (second in the nation).

In key series over the weekend, South Carolina took two of three at Mississippi St., Virginia lost two of three at Virginia Tech., Vanderbilt swept three against Georgia at home, Arkansas took two of three against Alabama at home, Louisville lost two of three at N.C. State, East Carolina lost two of three at Houston, Stanford split four games at Oklahoma, Kentucky swept a 3-game series against Missouri at home, UCLA lost two at Washington St., Oklahoma St. took two of three against Texas at home, Maryland won two of three against Iowa, North Carolina won two of three at Notre Dame, Miami (Fla.) swept three against Florida St. at home, Texas Tech. won two of three against TCU at home and Boston College won two of three against Georgia Tech. at home.

Poll Notes: Several teams are on impressive winning streaks, including Vanderbilt (11), Oregon (9) and Wake Forest (8). Kentucky has won 21 of its last 22 games. Cal. St. Fullerton has won 10 of its last 12.

Four teams fell out of the top 30 in UCLA (lost 5 in a row), Iowa (1-3 last week), Southern California (2-2) and Washington (2-2).

New to the poll is Oregon (18-7, 6-3 Pac-12 with 3-game sweep at Arizona), Cal. St. Fullerton (14-9, 7-2 Big West, won 7 of last 8), Coastal Carolina (18-7, 7-2 Sun Belt, won 4 straight) and West Virginia (21-7, 2-1 Big 12).

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 April 3, 2023)
Presented Bywww.bigleaguechew.com

Collegiate Baseball’s
National Players Of The Week
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OF Jack Hurley, Virginia Tech.: Hurley belted 5 home runs, 2 doubles and recorded 11 RBI with 7 runs scored as he went 11-for-20 at the plate over 4 games.

RHP Jackson Dennies, Notre Dame: Dennies led the Irish to wins over Butler and North Carolina. He pitched 4 perfect innings against Butler, recording a career-high 6 strikeouts while allowing no runs, no hits and no walks. Then against the Tar Heels, he fanned 7 batters across 4 2/3 innings, allowing just 2 hits, no runs and no walks. For the week, he struck out 13 batters in 8 2/3 innings.

1B Roberto Peña, Kansas St.: Peña hit 4 home runs and 2 doubles with 14 RBI and 4 runs scored as he went 8-for-14 at the plate.

RHP Paul Skenes, Louisiana St.: Skenes struck out 12 Tennessee batters in 7 innings of work as he allowed 1 run and 1 walk. It marked his seventh straight double digit strikeout performance. He leads the nation with 83 strikeouts.

DH Ethan Mann, Dallas Baptist: Mann belted 4 home runs with 12 RBI, 6 runs scored and collected 20 total bases. In one game against Louisiana Tech. Mann blasted 3 home runs as part of a 4-hit day with 6 RBI.

RHP Juaron Watts-Brown, Oklahoma St.: Brown fanned 12 Texas batters in 8 innings of work as he allowed 1 run and 3 hits.

1B Jonathon Long, Long Beach St.: Long hit 4 home runs with 1 double, 4 runs scored and 6 RBI as he went 8-for-18 over 4 games. Two of his homers were of the walk-off variety as he hit solo blasts to lead off the ninth against California Baptist in a 3-2 triumph and again in the ninth with two gone in a 5-4 win over Cal. Poly.