#1 UCLA and #7 Auburn are the Biggest Winners of the Week
The first full week of college baseball is in the books which means it’s time for real movement on the top 25. With most teams playing only three games last weekend, the only team worth moving was Oklahoma who swept the Shriners Showdown, going from unranked, to #21 in the country. Now, most teams have played at least seven games, including a mid-week, so there has been some shuffling on the top 25.
The biggest winner following the first full week of games is #1 UCLA. They hosted #22 TCU who was ranked #14 at the time and probably would have warranted a near top-five ranking had they not lost their final matchup at the Shirners Showdown to Oklahoma in the opening weekend. This was the most anticipated series of the weekend as #1 UCLA would be facing a legitimate test early on. However, it was never all that close as UCLA handled the Horned Frogs with ease. Granted, TCU was without their ace Tommy Lapour on Friday night, but there’s not much evidence that would have made a difference had Lapour been healthy as UCLA went on to sweep TCU, outscoring them 30-8. They capped off the weekend by winning via mercy rule, beating TCU 15-5 on Sunday. Friday and Saturday starters Logan Reddemann and Michael Barnett combined to silence TCU’s lineup, one of the best in the country, allowing just two earned runs across ten innings while striking out 14. To no surprise, Roch Cholowsky was the star of the weekend for the Bruins offense, going 4-12 with two home runs. Texas transfer Will Gasparino added three home runs of his own, two of which came in Sunday’s finale.
#7 Auburn, who came into the weekend ranked #10, had a near-flawless weekend at the Amegy Bank series at Globe Life Field, taking down Kansas State, #13 Florida State (#8 prior), and Louisville (#15 prior). Florida State and Kansas State kept their games fairly close before Auburn laid the hammer on Louisville on Sunday. Despite missing their best hitter Chris Rembert due to injury, the Tigers still managed to score 23 runs and was led by leadoff hitting, junior center fielder, Bristol Carter. The right-handed hitting Carter went 6-11 with three walks and a home run on the weekend. Sophomore left-hander and Virginia Tech transfer Jake Marciano set the tone from the mound on Friday night, delivering six scoreless innings against Kansas State while striking out eight and giving up just two baserunners via base hits.
A 6-1 SEC team coming off of two ranked wins might expect themselves to push into the top five, however, the six teams above them all went undefeated. The aforementioned UCLA, #2 LSU, #3 Georgia Tech, #4 Mississippi State, #5 Texas, and #6 Arkansas all handled business, and in pretty convincing fashion, combining for a 28-0 record between their weekend series and mid-week matchups.
Two new teams make an appearance on the top 25 with Wake Forest returning after dropping off of it following opening weekend, and Ole Miss making its season debut. Wake Forest went 4-0 on the week, beating High Point in a tight mid-week and then handled Siena in their weekend series, outscoring them 34-9. Ole Miss remains undefeated at 8-0 after taking down both Arkansas State and Jackson State in their mid-weeks while sweeping a solid Missouri State team over the weekend.
The two teams to drop off the top 25 are Louisville and Kentucky. With a chance to redeem themselves after remaining on the top 25 following a home series loss at the hands of Michigan State on opening weekend, Louisville dropped two of three once again to Michigan and Auburn at the Amegy Bank series, falling to 3-4 overall. Kentucky didn’t have a bad week by any means, but dropped a close mid-week to Morehead State before losing the finale of their weekend series to Evansville in another tight game. Coming into the week ranked #25, those two losses were enough for Kentucky to give way to hotter teams such as Wake Forest and Ole Miss.
As we head into mid-weeks, there are a few matchups on the schedule worth noting that could have some big rankings implications come this time next week. Alabama will travel to #19 Southern Miss, UT Rio Grande Valley travels to #5 Texas, and undefeated Arizona State travels to #10 Oklahoma. Over the weekend, there are two big time series going down in the state of Texas. #5 Texas, #14 Coastal Carolina, #25 Ole Miss, Ohio State, Baylor, and UTSA will all face off in the Bruce Bolt College Baseball Classic at Daikin Park in Houston. Up the road in Arlington is where the most anticipated series will take place as the second week of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series will welcome in #1 UCLA, #4 Mississippi State, #12 Tennessee, Texas A&M, Arizona State, and Virginia Tech for a clash of some heavyweights.
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