Collegiate Baseball Div 1 Poll (5-6-19)

UCLA NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL

TUCSON, Ariz. — UCLA (37-8) is ranked No. 1 in the latest Collegiate Baseball NCAA Div. I baseball poll presented by Big League Chew.  

The Bruins, winners of 16 of their last 18, beat Pepperdine once and took two of three at Arizona State during the past week.

UCLA is No. 1 in the nation with a 2.74 ERA. The pitching staff has struck out 469 batters with 150 walks. The Bruins are second in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings at 6.31. UCLA also has a superb defense with a fielding percentage of .982 (third in the USA). Opponents have only stolen 17 bases in 33 attempts this season over 45 games.

Poll Notes: Several teams are red-hot. Vanderbilt and Michigan have won 11 straight while Stanford has won 10 of its last 12, Louisville 9 consecutive, Miami (Fla.) 7 in a row and Central Michigan 6 straight. For the first time this season, Oregon St. struggled with four straight losses last week all at home. The Beavers dropped a game to Gonzaga and then three straight to Oklahoma St.

In key series across the USA during the past week, Vanderbilt swept a 3-game series at South Carolina, Mississippi St. won two of three at Texas A&M, Georgia swept a 3-game series at home against Florida, Mississippi won two of three at Louisiana St., Texas Tech. swept a 3-game series at Oklahoma, Iowa won two of three at home against U.C. Irvine and Florida Atlantic beat Southern Mississippi two of three on the road.

Four teams fell out of the top 30 in U.C. Irvine (1-3 last week), West Virginia (1-2), Southern Mississippi (2-2) and Texas St. (2-2). New to the poll is Florida Atlantic (32-15), Iowa (29-17), Central Michigan (34-12, won 6 straight) and Fresno St. (30-13-1, won 4 in a row).

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 6, 2019)
Presented By
www.bigleaguechew.com

Collegiate Baseball’s
National Players Of The Week
Powered By
www.diamond-sports.com

LHP Nick Snyder, West Virginia: Snyder struck out 16 Marshall batters during a 2-0, 1-hit performance. He had a no-hitter going into the ninth inning, but a single broke the no-no up with two outs. The only other baserunner was via a walk in the third inning.

C Chase Smartt, Troy: Smart went 12-for-19 at the plate over four games with 6 doubles, 2 home runs, 9 RBI and a 1.263 slugging percentage

LHP Ethan Small, Mississippi St.: Small retired the first 19 batters he faced in the series opener against Texas A&M on his way to seven hitless innings with 8 strikeouts. The only two batters who got on were via a walk and hit batter.

OF Joe Vranesh, St. Mary’s: Vranesh belted 3 home runs, including a grand slam, with 7 RBI as he went 7-for-14. He is currently on a 12-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 17 consecutive games.

RHP John Matthews, Kent St.: Matthews dazzled in long relief against Toledo as he struck out 10 in 6 innings to earn the win. He retired the first 14 batters he faced and only allowed three batters to reach base on two hits and a fielder’s choice.

2B Nick Gonzales, New Mexico St.: Gonzales went 11-for-16 with nine extra-base hits. In the Aggies’ lone non-conference game, he was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored in a 15-13 win over Arizona. Against UT Rio Grande Valley in game one, he was 5-for-6 at the plate and hit for the cycle with 4 runs scored. He was 4-for-7 the remainder of the series to finish with a .688 batting average on the week along with a 1.563 slugging percentage.

1B Vinnie Pasquantino, Old Dominion: Pasquantino hit four home runs in four games as he went 8-for-16 at the plate and extended his hitting streak to seven games. Pasquantino has now hit eight home runs in his last 13 games.