By: Aaron Kirby
For the 4th week in a row we have a new #1. Purdue (20-5) continues to play great baseball in 2012, moving up to the top spot with a 4-1 week. The Boilermakers started the week off beating Louisville 2-1 in 10 innings on Tuesday, followed by a 6-1 win Wednesday over IUPU-Fort Wayne, and taking 2 of 3 from Penn St in Big 10 play.
RISING
Texas St (18-10) moves back up 3 spots to #2. The Bobcats hosted Oregon mid week and swept the 2 game series by scores of 11-3 and 7-6. In Southland play Texas St took 2 of 3 from McNeese St.
Dallas Baptist (17-9) slide up one spot to #3. The Patriots lost 5-3 at Sam Houston St on Tuesday before hosting Missouri St over the weekend. The Patriots took the opener 6-5 and Missouri St evened the series with 8-4 win on Saturday. Dallas Baptist scored 4 runs in the btm of the 8th inning Sunday in a 6-6 game to win the game and series.
San Diego (23-7) jumps up 2 spots to #5 finishing their week 6 sweep of Santa Clara on Monday and winning 2 of 3 at San Francisco in WCC play.
Gonzaga (18-7) also jump up 2 spots taking 2 of 3 from Pepperdine in a huge WCC series.
Stetson (18-9) gets back on track moving up 1 spot to #10. After dropping 2 of 3 last week at Belmont the Hatters traveled to Macon, Ga and took 2 of 3 from Mercer.
Appalachian St (22-5) and New Mexico St (22-8) both climb in the poll after clubs in front of them slip. The Mountaineers climb 4 spots to #12 going 4-0 on week and scoring 10+ runs in all 4 games.(NC A&T 14-0, Oakland 13-8, 14-5, 10-5)…….The Aggies move up 5 spots to #13 playing just one game. That one game was a 7-6 win at Texas Tech. New Mexico St now has the nation’s longest win streak at 13 games.
Indiana St (23-6) continues to win and continues to climb in the poll moving up 4 spots to #18. The Sycamores won 14-3 at Ball St Wednesday before taking 2 of 3 from a very solid Illinois St club in MVC play.
FALLING
TCU (14-11) drop 2 spots to #8 with a 2-2 week. The Horned Frogs lost 4-3 at UT-Arlington on Tuesday and won 2 of 3 vs UNLV in MWC play. TCU won 4-2 Friday, 2-1 Saturday and got beat 11-0 on Sunday.
College of Charleston (21-8) slid 2 spots to #11. The Cougars opened the week up with a 3-2 win in 10 innings vs Charleston Southern and a 16-3 win over Jacksonville. In SOCON play the Cougars traveled to Georgia Southern and dropped 2 of 3. They ran into GSU’s ace Friday night Chris Beck who struck out 16 in just 6 innings in a 4-2 GSU win. Christian Powell (7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K) picked up his 5th win of year and evened the series for CofC with 4-1 win. GSU won 4-2 on Sunday to win the series.
Pepperdine (17-11) falls 3 spots to #15 losing at UC Santa Barbra 10-5 Tuesday and losing 2 of 3 at Gonzaga in big WCC series.
Southeastern Louisiana (20-9) drops 2 spots to #16 after a 2-3 week. The Lions lost 7-2 at Tulane Tuesday, beat Alcorn St 12-3 on Wednesday and lost 2 of 3 at Lamar in SLC play.
Samford (17-11) falls to #23 after going 1-3 on week including getting swept at home by Elon. The week could not have started much better or ended much worse for the Bulldogs. CF Phillip Ervin hit a walk off grand slam in btm 9th to beat Auburn 8-5 on Tuesday. In SOCON play Samford hosted Elon and lost all 3 games including losing 5-3 in the 18 inning marathon finished on Sunday (7-4, 5-3 18 innings, 7-5).
DROPPED OUT
#21 Santa Clara (16-9) drops out of the top 25 with a 3-3 week. The Broncos finished their WCC series from last week on Monday losing 12-4 at San Diego. The Broncos picked up 2 wins vs Brown on Tuesday and Wednesday before losing 2 of 3 vs Portland in WCC play.
#23 Nebraska (19-11) drop out of rankings after a 2-2 week. The Cornhuskers beat Kansas St 6-3 on Tuesday but lost 2 of 3 games at Northwestern in Big 10 play.
IN
Sam Houston St (19-9) enters the rankings at #19. The Bearkats followed up their sweep of Texas St last week with a 5-0 week. On Tuesday they beat Dallas Baptist 5-3, Wednesday beat Texas Southern 14-6 and swept SLC series at Texas-San Antonio outscoring Texas-San Antonio 40-8 on the weekend. The Bearkats now sit in 1st place in Southland at 10-2 and have won 8 games in a row.
Elon (18-11) reenter the rankings at #22. The Phoenix started the week off with a 5-4 win over UNCW Tuesday before heading to Alabama to face Samford in big SOCON series. Elon took game 1 Friday 7-4 and Saturdays game was suspended in the 7th inning tied 1-1 in the 7th. Game 2 was picked back up Sunday and it took another 11 innings before Elon pulled out a 5-3 win in 18 innings. This is same Elon club who played 20 innings vs WCU in the 2011 SOCON tourney. The Phoenix finished the sweep at Samford with a 7-4 win later Sunday and now are tied for first with CofC at 11-4 in Southern Conference.
Other notables
Belmont (19-10) continues to play good baseball sweeping A-Sun series at Jacksonville a week after taking 2 of 3 from preseason favorite Stetson.
Campbell (25-4) saw its 18 game win streak end on Friday with a 4-3 loss in 10 innings to Charleston Southern but won final 2 games in the Big South series.
North Dakota St (18-5) also continues to win as the Bisons won all 4 games vs rival North Dakota over weekend and have the second longest active win streak of 12 games and counting.
| Mid-Major Top 25- Week 7 | ||||
| RNK | SCHOOL | (REC) | PVS | (WK) |
| Weeks Results 3/26-4/1 | ||||
| #1 | Purdue | (20-5) | #3 | (4-1) |
| 1-0 Louisville; 1-0 IUPU-Fort Wayne; 2-1 Penn St; | ||||
| #2 | Texas St | (18-10) | #5 | (4-1) |
| 2-0 Oregon; 2-1 McNeese St; | ||||
| #3 | Dallas Baptist | (17-9) | #4 | (2-2) |
| 0-1 at Sam Houston St; 2-1 Missouri St | ||||
| #4 | Louisville | (20-8) | #2 | (2-2) |
| 0-1 at Purdue; 2-1 Villanova; | ||||
| #5 | San Diego | (23-7) | #7 | (3-1) |
| 1-0 Santa Clara; 2-1 at San Francisco; | ||||
| #6 | Gonzaga | (18-7) | #8 | (2-1) |
| 2-1 Pepperdine; | ||||
| #7 | Missouri St | (21-8) | #1 | (2-2) |
| 1-0 Kansas; 1-2 at Dallas Baptist; | ||||
| #8 | TCU | (14-11) | #6 | (2-2) |
| 0-1 at UT-Arlington; 2-1 UNLV; | ||||
| #9 | Florida Atlantic | (19-10) | #10 | (3-1) |
| 0-1 Central Florida; 3-0 Louisiana-Lafayette; | ||||
| #10 | Stetson | (18-9) | #11 | (2-1) |
| 2-1 at Mercer; | ||||
| #11 | College of Charleston | (21-8) | #9 | (3-2) |
| 1-0 Charleston Southern; 1-0 Jacksonville; 1-2 at Georgia Southern; | ||||
| #12 | Appalachian St | (22–5) | #16 | (4-0) |
| 1-0 North Carolina A&T; 3-0 Oakland; | ||||
| #13 | New Mexio St | (22-8) | #18 | (1-0) |
| 1-0 at Texas Tech | ||||
| #14 | Liberty | (25-6) | #15 | (2-2) |
| 0-1 VCU; 2-1 at Marshall; | ||||
| #15 | Pepperdine | (17-11) | #12 | (1-3) |
| 0-1 at UC Santa Barbra; 1-2 at Gonzaga | ||||
| #16 | SE Louisiana | (20-9) | #14 | (2-3) |
| 0-1 Tulane; 1-0 Alcorn St; 1-2 at Lamar; | ||||
| #17 | Western Carolina | (20-9) | #19 | (3-2) |
| 0-1 Kennesaw St; 1-0 at Kennesaw St; 2-1 Davidson; | ||||
| #18 | Indiana St | (23-6) | #22 | (4-1) |
| 1-0 Illiniois-Springfield; 1-0 at Ball St; 2-1 Illinios St; | ||||
| #19 | Sam Houston St | (19-9) | NR | (5-0) |
| 1-0 Dallas Baptist; 1-0 Texas Southern; 3-0 at UTSA; | ||||
| #20 | Coastal Carolina | (18-8) | #20 | (2-2) |
| 0-1 at North Carolina; 2-1 at Radford; | ||||
| #21 | Kent St | (14-12) | #17 | (3-2) |
| 0-1 Toledo; 0-1 at Pittsburgh; 3-0 at Ball St; | ||||
| #22 | Elon | (18-11) | NR | (4-0) |
| 1-0 UNC Wilmington; 3-0 at Samford; | ||||
| #23 | Samford | (17-11) | #13 | (1-3) |
| 1-0 Auburn; 0-3 Elon; | ||||
| #24 | SC Upstate | (21-7) | #24 | (3-2) |
| 0-1 Charlotte; 1-0 Gardner Webb; 2-1 Florida Gulf Coast; | ||||
| #25 | Stony Brook | (16-8) | #25 | (2-0) |
| 2-0 New York Tech; | ||||
| dropped out | ||||
| #21 | Santa Clara | (16-9) | ||
| #23 | Nebraska | (19-11) | ||
| bubbles | ||||
| Belmont | (19-10) | |||
| Portland | (16-6) | |||
| UT-Arlington | (17-11) | |||
| Campbell | (25-4) | |||
| Santa Clara | (16-9) | |||
| Kennesaw St | (18-11) | |||
| North Dakota St | (18-5) | |||
| South Florida | (20-9) | |||
| Michigan St | (16-8) | |||
| Nebraska | (19-11) | |||
| *Bubbles in order from most votes to least | ||||
15 comments
How does SHSU sit at #19, when they are 4-0 against your #2 & #3 ranked teams, along with having a better record than both?
The reason the are just #19 is because they just got in this week. They deserved to be in last week but only one spot was available and New Mexico St got it. They won 2 games at Arizona mid week and swept 4 games from Texas-Pan American. I gave more weight to that 6-0 week than sweeping Texas St and losing to Baylor. Before sweeping Texas St they had been just one of the bubble teams therefore they did not get in and are just #19 right now. They will move up very quickly if continue to win and are in 1st place(10-2) in a very good Southland.
Not only are they 3-0 vs Texas St and 1-0 vs Dallas Baptist they also won 2 of 3 to start season from San Diego who is playing some of best baseball in country right now.
But i do warn you those who have questioned the position of their teams have had bad luck. I hope you did not jinx them. Just ask the UT-Arlington guy and Mercer. Mercer has lost 5 strait weekend series and UT-Arlington lost 4 of 5 after guy questioned it and then got swept the next time.
He’s right. UT-Arlington has only had two bad weeks all year. Both of them occurred immediately after I correctly pointed out the reasons why they should be on the list.
You are officially a JINX!!!!! 🙂
Because Sam Houston State sucks…thats why.
Do you use RPI in your ranking?
No the RPI does not play a role in determining the rankings. Ill use that when looking at what team will be in position to get an at-large bid and actually did list the RPI of top 25 teams and some other teams not in top 25.
Heck Ohio St has a RPI of #40 right now and they are barely on the bubble sheet.
Hey Lefty,
That is probably you on rivals asking the same question but if not ill clarify how i use the RPI. Im just copy and pasting my comments there.
A particular teams RPI does not play a role in
determining the rankings how ever id do look at their record vs RPI
clubs so id does play a role. If i am deciding between 2 teams and one
team has a RPI of #58 vs #76 i am not going to put the team with better
RPI in just because they have a better RPI.Does that make any sense? Not being a smart ass just want to make sure because i can go in circles some times. LOL
I don’t post on Rivals………..thanks for the clarification.
I listed all the teams in top 25 RPI and several teams that are not in top 25. Here you go.
TOP 25 WEEK #8RNK SCHOOL (REC)#RPI
———————————————————-
#1 Purdue (20-5) #19
#2 Texas St (18-10) #28
#3 Dallas Baptist (17-9) #56
#4 Louisville (20-8) #62
#5 San Diego (23-7) #35
#6 Gonzaga (18-7) #27
#7 Missouri St (21-8) #40
#8 TCU (14-11) #51
#9 FAU (19-10) #58
#10 Stetson (18-9) #70
#11 CofC (21-8) #49
#12 Appalachian St (22–5) #38
#13 New Mexio St (22-8) #17
#14 Liberty (25-6) #85
#15 Pepperdine (17-11) #26
#16 SE Louisiana (20-9) #44
#17 WCU (20-9) #65
#18 Indiana St (23-6) #39
#19 Sam Houston St(19-9) #34
#20 Coastal Carolina(18-8) #48
#21 Kent St (14-12) #127
#22 Elon (18-11) #22
#23 Samford (17-11) #100
#24 SC Upstate (21-7) #60
#25 Stony Brook (16-8) #135
TEAMS OUTSIDE TOP 25 SCHOOL (REC)#RPI
———————————————————
Ohio St (14-11) #40
Illinois St (17-8) #42
Belmont (19-10) #46
Notre Dame (16-10) #47
Michigan St (16-8) #56
Neveda (15-10) #57
Evansville (18-10) #63
UT-Arlington (17-11) #67
Santa Clara (16-9) #68
Nebraska (19-11) #72
Portland (16-6) #73
South Florida (20-9) #74
Kennesaw St (18-11) #78
North Dakota St (18-5) #88
Campbell (25-4) #93
How do you not have Belmont in the Top 25? They dominated Stetson 2 weeks ago outscoring then 32 – 10 and taking 2 of 3. The swept Jacksonville 3 – 0 this past weekend. Why is Stetson #10?
I really like Belmont and had them in the preseason rankings. They have been playing very good baseball lately. The reason they are not in is simple the way the rankings are figured each week.
Last week on 2 new teams got in:
Week #7(2 new teams in top 25)
————————————————-
Sam Houston St (19-9)
(5-0)1-0 Dallas Baptist; 1-0 Texas Southern; 3-0 at UTSA;
Elon (18-11)
(4-0)1-0 UNC Wilmington; 3-0 at Samford;
vs
Belmont (19-10)
(3-0)3-0 at Jacksonville;
In week 6 only 1 team got in:
Week #6(1 team in top 25)
————————————————-
New Mexio St (15-8)
(6-0)2-0 at Arizona; 4-0 UT Pan American;
vs
Belmont (16-10)
(3-2)1-0 at Western Kentucky; 0-1 at Murray St; 2-1 Stetson;
Each week they were the first or second team that was left out and there were only 1 or 2 spots available and the other clubs had better weeks. Sweeping Jacksonville on the road is very nice but it was not close to what Sam Houston and Elon did. The last 2 weeks the teams grouped right at the bottom have all won their weekend series and have not dropped out.
BelmontFan,
does that make sense?
Watch Kennesaw State! They have a killer lead off hitter in Aaron Dobbs, a consistent clean up hitter in Ronnie Freeman, and a bomber hitting #7 slot with 8 HR and 34 RBI. They’re starting pitcher Josh Car had another complete game today pushing him to 8-1 on the season, which leads the nation. The bullpen has also been very good.
I got to watch Kennesaw St last week when Western Carolina played there. They did look pretty good and had some good arms. The kid who started was a freshman and should be pretty good. He was a little wild but had good stuff.
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