By: Aaron Kirby
Louisville (16-2) stays atop the rankings after a perfect 4-0 week. The Cardinals opened the week Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Purdue and ended the week with a 3 game sweep of Xavier by the scores of 6-1, 7-0 and 8-6. Louisville is 14-1 at home to start 2013 with first true road game March 26 at Indiana.
Rising
- San Diego (14-6) moves up to #2 after sweeping BYU to start WCC play. In game one Thursday Toreros All-American Kris Bryant went 3-3 with 3 HRs and 6 RBI. The 3rd coming with 1 out and 2 on in bottom of 9th to give San Diego the 7-5 walk off win. Saturday BYU took a 9-8 lead in the 14th inning only to have Bryant come up with 1 out and 1 on and hit another walk off HR and give San Diego the 10-9 win and series sweep. Bryant finished the weekend 5-12 with 4 HR (2 walk offs) and 8 RBI.
- Notre Dame (12-5) moves up to #3 after a 2-2 week. The Irish opened the week with a 7-2 loss at UC Santa Barbara but bounced right back winning 2 of 3 at Cal Poly (15-4). You could not ask for much of a better start to season for Notre Dame who won 12 of 17 road games with wins over FGCU, Ohio St, (3) Tulane, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, USC, Oklahoma, and (2) Cal Poly.
- Austin Peay (17-2) slides up 3 places to #6 with a 4-0 week. The Governors beat Indiana State 6-5 Tuesday, 3-1 at Lipscomb Wednesday and won first games at Eastern Illinois to open OVC play. Sunday’s finale at Eastern Illinois was canceled due to weather. Austin Peay has the nation’s longest active win streak at 10 games.
- Pepperdine (10-9) climbs back up 4 spots to #7 with a 3-1 week. The Waves rebounded nicely after being swept by Seton Hall last week. Tuesday they opened the week up with a 9-4 win at USC and won 2 of 3 vs Loyola-Marymount to start WCC play. Pepperdine was down 3-2 going to bottom of 9th on Sunday and Loyola-Marymount retired the first 2 batters in the 9th before sophomore catcher Kolten Yamaguchi hit the first pitch he saw out to RF to tie game at 3. Then a walk, error by the SS and RBI single by sophomore INF Drew Hacker and the Waves won the game 4-3 and the series 2-1.
- Dallas Baptist (11-9) moves back up 3 to #14 with a 3-1 week and have won 6 of 7. The Patriots won 5-3 at Stephen F. Austin Tuesday and took 2 of 3 from Sam Houston State.
- Georgia Southern (12-7) slides up to #16 after a 3-1 week. The Eagles picked up a nice 10-8 win at in state rival Mercer on Tuesday and won 2 of 3 at Samford in SoCon play. Samford won game 1 Friday 6-2 however Georgia Southern came back with an 18-14 win Saturday and took the series with a 6-3 win on Sunday.
- Louisiana (16-3) moves up 4 to #19 with a sweep of Louisiana Monroe to start Sun Belt play.
- Central Arkansas (17-3) climbs up 3 places to #21 beating Arkansas Pine Bluff and winning 2 of 3 at Southern Miss.
- New Mexico (8-10) hangs onto #20 with a 2-2 week. The Lobos started the week off with a 4-3 loss in 11 innings at Arizona St but bounced back very nicely winning 2 of 3 at UNLV to open Mountain West play.
Falling
- Florida Gulf Coast (13-4) fall 5 spots to #11. The only game the Eagles had in week 5 was Sunday vs NAIA school Ave Maria from Naples, Fl. A few weeks after FGCU pulled off one of the bigger upsets of 2013 with a sweep at Florida, Ave Maria pulled off their own upset winning 8-6 at FGCU.
- Sam Houston St (9-9) fall 5 to #15 losing 2 of 3 at Dallas Baptist. The Bearkats got pounded 18-4 in game one and lost 8-7 in game 2 before avoiding the sweep with a 12-8 win in game 3.
- UNLV (15-5) drop 2 spots to #17 after a 2-2 week. The Rebels started the week with a nice 8-6 win at Cal State Bakersfield Tuesday but lost 2 of 3 at home to New Mexico in MWC play.
Enter the Rankings
- South Alabama (17-4) enter the rankings at #23. USA started the week with a 5-1 win at Alabama St and opened Sun Belt play by winning 2 of 3 at Troy. In Friday’s opener the Jaguars entered the 8th inning down 10-4 and scored 2 in top 8th and 5 in top 9th for an 11-10 win. They clinched the series with a 7-5 win Saturday but dropped the finale 8-7.
- Arkansas St (14-6) makes their debut at #24. The Red Wolves split two mid week games with Missouri St, losing 6-2 and winning 7-5, and swept their Sun Belt series at Arkansas-Little Rock (6-3, 9-7, and 7-5).
- Campbell (16-3) enters the top 25 at #25 with a 3-1 week. The Fighting Camels started their week with an 8-6 win over East Carolina on Wednesday sweeping their home and home series with ECU for 2013 (won 6-4 at ECU Feb 19th). For the weekend Campbell started Big South play winning 2 of 3 at a solid Gardner Webb.
Dropped Out
- #16 St Louis (12-9)-The Billikens lost 3 of 5 games at home to Western Illinois and South Dakota St.
- #18 Furman (14-6)-After starting SoCon play with series win at Elon and vs App St the Paladins took a BIG step back losing 2 of 3 to Davidson. Furman opened their series at Davidson with a 7-1 win but were pounded 22-2 in game 2 Saturday. Game 3 was played in Greenville, which was basically a home game for Furman, and Davidson came away with a 7-6 win in 10 innings.
- #25 Middle Tennessee St (11-9)-The Blue Raiders were swept at Western Kentucky and have lost 7 of 9 overall.
News and Notes
The 3 spots came down to 5 teams with Lamar (18-3) and Western Carolina (12-8) being the 2 left out. Lamar’s 18 wins are tied for the 3rd most in the country. The Cardinals had their 12 game win streak snapped Friday with a 5-4 loss at Texas-Pan American but have won 14 of 15………Western Carolina scored 6 runs in the 8th and 2 in the 9th to win 10-6 at College of Charleston Sunday taking the SoCon series 2 to 1 and have won 8 of 10 games.
Dartmouth (6-0) beat Army 5-2, Long Island 11-4, and UAB 4-0 to remain the only team in country to not have lost.
Longest Current Win Streaks
1-Austin Peay (10)
2-Louisville (7)
3-Dartmouth (6)
3-Indiana (6)
3-Tennessee Tech (6)
| CBD Mid-Major Top 25 Week 5 | ||||
| Rnk | School | Record | Pvs | Wk |
| Weeks Results for 3/11-3/17 | ||||
| #1 | Louisville | 16-2 | #1 | 4-0 |
| 1-0 Purdue; 3-0 Xavier; | ||||
| #2 | San Diego | 14-6 | #3 | 3-0 |
| 3-0 BYU; | ||||
| #3 | Notre Dame | 12-5 | #4 | 2-2 |
| 0-1 at UC Santa Barbara; 2-1 at Cal Poly; | ||||
| #4 | Missouri State | 13-5 | #2 | 3-2 |
| 1-1 at Arkansas St; 2-1 Western Illinois; | ||||
| #5 | Indiana | 13-3 | #5 | 5-0 |
| 1-0 vs Army; 1-0 vs Fairfield; 1-0 vs Navy; 1-0 vs Bucknell; 1-0 vs UAB | ||||
| #6 | Austin Peay | 17-2 | #9 | 4-0 |
| 1-0 Indiana St; 1-0 at Lipscomb; 2-0 at Eastern Illinios; | ||||
| #7 | Pepperdine | 10-9 | #11 | 3-1 |
| 1-0 at USC; 2-1 Loyola Marymount; | ||||
| #8 | Mercer | 16-5 | #7 | 2-2 |
| 0-1 Georgia Southern; 2-1 at Kennesaw St; | ||||
| #9 | Florida Atlantic | 12-8 | #8 | 2-2 |
| 1-1 Maine; 2-1 FIU; | ||||
| #10 | SE Louisiana | 14-6 | #13 | 4-1 |
| 1-0 Tulane; 0-1 at Tulane; 3-0 Arkansas Pine Bluff; | ||||
| #11 | Florida Gulf Coast | 13-4 | #6 | 0-1 |
| 0-1 Ave Marie; | ||||
| #12 | Creighton | 10-4 | #14 | 4-1 |
| 1-0 at SE Missouri St; 1-0 N. Dakota; 2-1 Pacific; | ||||
| #13 | Coastal Carolina | 10-10 | #12 | 3-2 |
| 0-1 Ohio St; 0-1 at UNCW; 2-0 Michigan; 1-0 Akron | ||||
| #14 | Dallas Baptist | 11-9 | #17 | 3-1 |
| 1-0 at Stephen F. Austin; 2-1 Sam Houston St; | ||||
| #15 | Sam Houston State | 9-9 | #10 | 1-2 |
| 1-2 at Dallas Baptist; | ||||
| #16 | Georgia Southern | 12-7 | #19 | 3-1 |
| 1-0 at Mercer; 2-1 at Samford; | ||||
| #17 | UNLV | 15-5 | #15 | 2-2 |
| 1-0 at Cal St Bakersfield; 1-2 New Mexico; | ||||
| #18 | UNCW | 12-7 | #21 | 3-1 |
| 1-0 Elon; 1-0 Coastal Carolina; 1-1 at James Madison | ||||
| #19 | Louisiana | 16-3 | #23 | 3-0 |
| 3-0 Louisiana Monroe; | ||||
| #20 | New Mexico | 8-10 | #20 | 2-2 |
| 0-1 at Arizona St; 2-1 at UNLV; | ||||
| #21 | Central Arkansas | 17-3 | #24 | 3-1 |
| 1-0 Arkansas Pine Bluff; 2-1 at Southern Miss; | ||||
| #22 | Gonzaga | 11-6-1 | #22 | 3-2 |
| 1-1 at Hawaii; 2-1 San Francisco; | ||||
| #23 | South Alabama | 17-4 | NR | 3-1 |
| 1-0 at Alabama St; 2-1 at Troy; | ||||
| #24 | Arkansas St | 14-6 | NR | 4-1 |
| 1-1 Missouri St; 3-0 at Arkansas LR; | ||||
| #25 | Campbell | 16-3 | NR | 3-1 |
| 1-0 East Carolina; 2-1 at Gardner Webb; | ||||
| Dropped Out |
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| #16 | St Louis | 12-9 |
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| #18 | Furman | 14-6 |
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| #25 | Middle Tennessee St | 11-9 |
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| Others Receiving Votes |
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| Lamar | 18-3 |
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| Western Carolina | 12-8 |
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| Liberty | 14-6 |
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| North Florida | 15-6 |
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| Furman | 14-6 |
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| Elon | 11-8 |
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| Belmont | 13-6 |
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| ETSU | 12-5 |
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| Cal St Bakersfield | 14-6 |
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| Texas-San Antonio | 13-7 |
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7 comments
OK Jbro and Fred, how bad did i do?
This is the best one yet. Getting better all the time.
I will not comment on Dallas Baptist other than to say they shouldn’t be in here to begin with, but I agree with not putting Lamar in here despite their 18 wins because their schedule is so poor, its hard to know just how good they really are.
On the other hand, I know New Mexico has played a pretty good schedule but a losing record? Not sure about that…I’d switch them with Campbell. Furman had a rough weekend but still deserves to be in here I think (can you switch them with DBU?…that would be great). UT San Antonio has played well….switch them with Sam Houston (who lost 2 of 3 to DBU and should be tossed out for that). The Ragin Cajuns should be much higher, too.
But as I said….this is getting way better. Good job.
Austin Peay is interesting…I sure would like to see them play. They are off to a great start this year.
Austin Peay is pretty damn good and I’d like to see them in person too.
New Mexico was down were if they lost they out but won at UNLV. Them and Dallas Baptist just keep hanging on.
While doing list of “bubble” teams for this week I found it kinda hard to find 25-28 teams usually have.
I dropped Furman out because of who, how and where they lost. Davidson is not good and beat them 22-2 then game 3 was not played in Charlotte but moved to Greenville which made it home game for Furman and still lost.
Sent from AK iPhone
I’d like Fred to weigh in on the comment I’m about to make….
I don’t think you punish a team that much for losing in a blowout…not much more than you would if if was a tight game. My reasoning is this: When you have one of those days when the first couple of pitchers have a really off day and are getting lit up, you don’t put good arms out there to finish the game…..you give up and put the guys who never get innings in there just to get through the game and let em get creamed. Why? Because you have to save your good arms for the next game where you have a chance. It just happens. You limit your damage, call it a loss, and move on. It’s the high-scoring tight games that kill you arm-wise. I’d say one game like that doesn’t mean much in the course of the season.
I realize Davidson isn’t that great and Furman had an off weekend, but overall they have been really solid.
Then again, maybe they are susceptible to the CBD Mid Major Jinx! In which case it is good for them to be off the list for their own sake. I just MENTIONED my team last week and they lost to little rock and 2 of 3 to McNeese. JINX JINX JINX
Your right you should not over react to a blow out. However it was a combination of the 3 elements i listed. When you combine all of them you get DROPPED out.
You are most definitely a jinx on your boys no doubt about that one.
Maybe i’m missing something, but it seems strange that Illinois isn’t mentioned here. Sweeping Baylor in Waco is a pretty impressive feat for a ‘mid major’. They’re 12-4 and have won quiet a few true road games of late.
They appeared on the radar after last week. They should have been in the next 10 list but i overlooked them when i put that together last night.
Here is the list i have for week 6. If there is someone i might have missed or you think needs to be on there please say something. They are in no particular order. Once a team comes of i just plug another team in the open spot.
School Record
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Western Carolina 12-8
Lamar 18-3
Elon 11-8
North Florida 15-6
Belmont 13-6
Illinois 12-4
CofC 11-8
Troy 12-6
Liberty 14-6
Samford 11-9
Furman 14-6
Citadel 14-7
Wichita State 11-8
VCU 11-5
Cal St Bakersfield 14-6
Alabama St 14-7
St Louis 12-9
UCONN 10-6
Richmond 14-5
SC Upstate 11-7
Canisius 14-5
Texas-San Antonio 13-7
ETSU 12-5
Nevada 13-7
Presbyterian 13-8
UNCC 13-5
Pittsburgh 12-6
Ohio St 12-6
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