College Baseball Poll - Collegiate Baseball Newspaper

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Monday (April 27, 2009)

U.C. IRVINE NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER POLL

TUCSON, Ariz. — U.C. Irvine (30-11) has been ranked No. 1 for the second straight time in Collegiate Baseball newspaper's NCAA Division I baseball poll.

The Anteaters, which have won seven of their last eight games and 11 of 13, lead the Big West Conference with an 11-1 record.

POLL NOTES: Several teams have been red-hot. Texas St. has won 12 in a row while Florida St. has won 9 straight and is now second in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 15-7 record. Cal. St. Fullerton is on a roll with six consecutive wins while Louisiana St. is playing well with five straight victories. Four teams fell out of the top 30 this week, including Baylor (0-5 last week), Coastal Carolina (2-3), Georgia Southern (2-2) and Missouri St. (2-2). New to the poll this week is Kansas St. (31-11-1, won two and tied one at Texas over the past weekend), Texas St. (31-10, leads Southland Conference with 18-5 record), Illinois (26-12, tied for first in Big Ten with 11-4 record), and East Carolina (32-13, second in Conference USA with 12-6 record).

The Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1957 college baseball season.

(Top 30 Agate Follows)

"LOUISVILLE SLUGGER'S" NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

• 2B Shane Brown, Central Florida: Brown tied an NCAA record by reaching base 18 straight times last week. It all started when he doubled in the seventh and eighth innings during a 13-12 win over Stetson last Tuesday. In the Knights' 29-9 win over Alabama-Birmingham, he went 5-for-5 with two doubles, a homer, 3 RBI and 3 runs. He also was hit by a pitch twice and walked once as he got on board all eight times. In the series finale against UAB, he homered, doubled and singled in his first three at-bats to tie the NCAA record. The streak finally came to an end as he flew out in his fourth at-bat.

• RHP Dan Wright, Lynn: Wright carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning and settled on a 1-hitter with 17 strikeouts during an 8-0 win over Florida Tech. The 17 strikeouts were a new record at Lynn, shattering the old mark of 13.

• RHP Anthony Ranaudo, Louisiana St.: Ranaudo struck out a career-high 15 batters in eight innings during a 7-3 win over Auburn. His 15 strikeouts were the most by an LSU pitcher during an SEC game since the 1999 season.

• RHP Mark Serrano, Oral Roberts: Serrano fired a complete-game 2-hitter with a career-high 16 strikeouts during a 5-0 win over North Dakota St. The Bison didn't get their second hit in the game until two outs in the ninth. Serrano faced 31 batters, four over the minimum.

• OF Phil Wunderlich, Louisville: Wunderlich hit .522 with 4 home runs, 14 RBIs and 6 runs scored. The amazing week came just two weeks after he suffered a broken nose and fractured orbital bone after being hit in the face by a 3-2 pitch in the eighth inning against Indiana on April 7.

• OF Jason Patton, Kent St.: Patton belted 4 home runs during the past week as he went 10-for-20 at the plate. Prior to the past week, his season-high in home runs was only four. Against Youngstown St., Patton recorded his first multi-home run game. Then against Ohio, he hit his first collegiate grand slam in the first inning. In Saturday's game against Ohio, he had a career-high 5 hits in 7 at-bats with a caree-high 6 runs scored and 4 RBIs.