Collegiate Baseball Div. I Poll 3-7-16

FLORIDA NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL

TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Florida (12-1) is ranked No.1 for the fourth straight Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division I baseball poll presented by Big League Chew bubble gum.

The Gators, which have won six in a row, beat Central Florida twice and swept a 3-game series from Dartmouth last week. Florida’s pitching staff has a 2.50 ERA and has struck out 138 batters while only walking 31 in 13 games.

POLL NOTES: Several teams have impressive winning streaks. Georgia Tech has won 11 straight, the longest winning streak at the school since stringing together 16 straight victories in 2011. Oregon St. has won nine in a row while North Carolina has captured eight straight.

In key series over the past weekend, Vanderbilt won two of three at Stanford, Oregon beat U.C. Santa Barbara two of three at home, Clemson beat South Carolina two of three at home, Dallas Baptist swept a 3-game series at New Mexico and California won four straight at Texas, an accomplishment that has never been done against Texas in 79 attempts.

Three teams fell out of the top 30 in New Mexico (0-3), Stanford (2-2) and Cal. St. Fullerton (2-2). New to the poll this week is N.C. State (10-2, 7 straight wins), Clemson (8-2) and Dallas Baptist (8-3, 4 wins 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 NCAA Div. I Poll
(As of March 7, 2016)
www.bigleaguechew.com

National Players Of The Week

• C/DH Chance Shepard, N.C. State: Shepard has been the hottest hitter on the planet with 7 home runs over his last 8 games and 16 RBI. In five games last week, he hit 4 homers and went 7-for-18 at the plate with 10 RBI. At one point, he homered in six consecutive games to break a 22-year-old school record set by Mark Wells during the 1994 season.

• RHP Clay Chandler, Southeast Missouri: Chandler struck out 14 batters over 8 scoreless innings against Central Arkansas. He allowed only two hits and no walks. At one point, he fanned eight consecutive hitters.

• OF Spencer Johnson, Missouri State: Johnson blasted 4 home runs, scored 6 times and drove in 8 runs over 4 games last week as he hit .417.

• LHP David Peterson, Oregon: Peterson fanned a career-high 13 U.C. Santa Barbara batters with no earned runs over 7 innings during a 3-1 win.

• RHP Bailey Ober, College of Charleston: Ober pitched 7 2/3 innings of hitless baseball with 9 strikeouts during a 1-0 win over The Citadel. He allowed only one base runner, a hit batter, to start the second inning. He was pulled after he reached the 90 pitch limit set by his coaches.

• RHP James Karinchak, Bryant: Karinchak allowed only one hit and tied a school record with 13 strikeouts over 6 innings during a 12-2 win over George Mason. At one point, he retired 13 consecutive hitters.

• DH/RHP Darick Hall, Dallas Baptist: Hall went 11-for-17 with 3 home runs and 13 RBI over four games. He also totaled a team-high 22 bases and hit two doubles. In a game against New Mexico, he went 5-for-5 with 2 home runs, 6 RBI and a double. Hall also earned a win in his start against New Mexico with 4 strikeouts.