After a crazy week of upsets and tough matchups, there is a lot of movement in the latest college baseball top 25 rankings. There are four new top 10 teams and two teams joining the top 25, with a number of teams shifting up and down. This had to be one of the crazier weeks of the season so far.
Be sure to catch up on the previous rankings:Ā Week 1Ā |Ā Week 2Ā |Ā Week 3Ā |Ā Week 4Ā |Ā Week 5Ā |Ā Week 6 | Week 7
1. Tennessee (33-3, 14-1)
Tennesse lost their first SEC game against Alabama on Friday but bounced back to win the series. The Vols have easily been the most complete team in the country this season and won’t drop from the top spot in the rankings anytime soon. They crushed the Crimson Tide 9-2 and 15-4 in the final two games of the series. Head coach Tony Vitello and pitching coach Frank Anderson were ejected in Saturday’s contest. They both were handed four-game suspensions, which began on Sunday.
Previous Ranking: 1
Tony Vitello bumps the 3rd base umpire after being ejected in the top of the first inning. Certainly looks like a suspension will be coming. Frank Anderson also ejected. pic.twitter.com/7QiOrTmb4f
— Zack Rickens (@ZackRickensTV) April 16, 2022
2. Oklahoma State (26-10, 9-3)
With a number of teams in the previous top ten struggling this week, Oklahoma State moves up to the second spot. This week, the Cowboys won their series over West Virginia, winning Sunday’s game 13-3. Right-hander Justin Campbell tossed seven shutout innings while striking out eight in a close 2-1 win on Friday. On Sunday, right-hander Bryce Osmond recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. The Cowboys smashed three bombs in the first inning, with David Mendham, Marcus Brown, and Griffin Doersching all going yard.
Previous Ranking: 6
3. Arkansas (28-7, 11-4)
The Razorbacks bounce back up five spots in the rankings after sweeping previously 18th ranked LSU. Sophomore right-hander Jaxon Wiggins struck out a career-high nine batters in Sunday’s matchup. Cayden Wallace powered the Hogs scoring in the fifth, as they jumped ahead on a two-run single by the sophomore in a four-run inning. Brady Slavens later crushed a homer in the seventh, his seventh of the season, and finished the game with three RBI.
Previous Ranking: 8
4. Oregon State (27-8, 10-5)
The Beavers have won seven games in a row after sweeping Long Beach State over the weekend. In their 14-3 sweep clinching win on Sunday, eight of the 14 runs were scored by the one and two hitters in left fielder Wade Meckler and second baseman Travis Bazzana. Meckler went 3-for-3, including a homer, with five runs scored and Bazzana went 1-for-1 with three runs scored and three walks. Justin Boyd had five RBI and along with Jake Dukart also hit a homer. Southpaw Cooper Hjerpe struck out 11 over seven innings of two-run ball on Friday.
Previous Ranking: 7
5. Stanford (20-11, 11-7)
Behind an 11-0 win on Saturday, Stanford took their series over UCLA as they secured their first series win at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles. Outfielder Brock Jones went 3-for-4 with two homers and left-hander Quinn Mathews struck out eight over seven scoreless innings. Drew Bowser also had a homer in the game and went 3-for-5.
Previous Ranking: 10
A big day for Stanford OF Brock Jones yesterday going 3 for 4 with two homers and a walk. It's been a streaky first half of the season for Jones, but he's taking a million walks and has been the clubhouse leader he's revered as all year long.pic.twitter.com/MEh5Fqcg8R
— Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) April 17, 2022
6. Miami (28-8, 14-4)
After looking unstoppable the last few weeks, the Hurricanes dropped the first two games of their series against Virginia Tech before avoiding the sweep in the final game. They lost the games by scores of 12-5 and 13-2 as well, so they were tough pitching days for Miami. With so many teams losing their series, they stay in the top 10 of the rankings.
Previous Ranking: 2
7. Gonzaga (24-9, 11-4)
Gonzaga continues to play well in conference play, as they took another WCC series from the University of Portland. It is the fifth straight series win for the Bulldogs and they maintain sole possession of first place in the conference standings. The Zags fell behind 2-0 early, before scoring five runs over the next three innings and throwing up a zero the rest of the game. Right-hander Owen Wild pitched five more innings and struck out six to keep the Pilots at bay. Gonzaga also defeated Oregon State 13-6 on Monday night.
Previous Ranking: 14
8. Virginia Tech (23-9, 9-7)
The Hokies have won four ACC series in a row after calming the Hurricanes this weekend. Freshman right-hander Drue Hackenberg pitched a masterpiece in the series clincher on Saturday. Hackenberg struck out seven and gave up just one earned run on five hits and three walks over eight innings. Sean Fisher pitched a shutout ninth to close it out while striking out two.
Previous Ranking: 16
9. Southern Mississippi (27-8, 13-2)
The Golden Eagles have now won nine games in a row after sweeping FIU this weekend. The final game of the series took 12 innings when Reece Ewing slugged a two-run homer in the top of the frame. Five Southern Mississippi relievers combined to keep FIU scoreless over the final 9 1/3 innings. Garrett Ramsey tossed the final four innings after coming in with no outs and runners on the corners in the ninth and stranding them there.
Previous Ranking: 19
10. Vanderbilt (25-10, 7-8)
Vanderbilt bounced back with a series win over Florida over the weekend to jump back into the top 10. The Commodores took the first two games of the series before dropping the final game in 10 innings. Vandy came back in the second game after falling behind 4-0 when Florida hit three homers in the first four innings. Dominic Keegan led off the fourth with a homer of his own, his team-leading seventh bomb on the season. Vanderbilt then scratched across four runs in the sixth to take the lead. With the bases loaded and two outs, Enrique Bradfield Jr. drove a 1-2 pitch off the wall in right-center for a bases-clearing triple to give the Commodores a 6-4 lead.
Previous Ranking: 22
Bases-clearing triple for Bradfield š¤
DORES. ON. TOP.#VandyBoys pic.twitter.com/RdmoBzgt24
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) April 17, 2022
11. UConn (28-7, 6-0)
The Huskies kept their perfect Big East record alive by sweeping Seton Hall. They increased their winning streak to nine games, with Pat Gallagher hurling six shutout innings in game one of the doubleheader on Saturday. Enzo Stefanoni then allowed just one run over eight innings in game two as the Huskies won 14-2. Shortstop Bryan Padilla went 1-for-4 with a homer, three RBI, and two walks.
Previous Ranking: 23
12. Notre Dame (21-8, 8-7)
It was a very off week for the Irish, as they were swept by the Duke Blue Devils. They dropped the first game 15-5, the second 4-3 in 11 innings, and the third game 6-2. After two mid-week games, they will look to bounce back in ACC action against Wake Forest.
Previous Ranking: 5
13. Florida State (22-13, 10-8)
The Seminoles had a great week as they downed Florida in their mid-week game before sweeping previously 13th-ranked Louisville. Jordan Carrion went 4-for-4 with a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning on Saturday. Jackson Greene also homered and made a run-saving diving stop at third base to end the fifth. That warrants a move back into the rankings.
Previous Ranking: NR
Jordan Carrion!!!!
Helluva time for your first HR as a Seminole!
šŗ ACCNX // https://t.co/dZ0FmhftO8
š | UL 5, FSU 7 pic.twitter.com/YZgmtIFTLl
— FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) April 16, 2022
14. Georgia Tech (23-14, 9-9)
The Yellow Jackets won their second straight ACC series as they defeated North Carolina in two out of three games. Georgia Tech blasted two grand slams on Sunday, one from Kevin Parada in the second and one from Tim Borden II in the ninth – his second of the game. Tres GonzalezĀ andĀ Colin Hall also smashed homers in the 11-8 victory.
Previous Ranking: 25
OH MY GOODNESS ANOTHER GRAND SLAM!!!
TIMMY BARRELS HAVE A DAY!! Second š£ TODAY!@t_breezyy10 | #WreckHavoc š¦š¦š¦ pic.twitter.com/0Yxu4NB5cD
— Georgia Tech Baseball (@GTBaseball) April 17, 2022
15. Maryland (29-7, 7-2)
The Terps won all four of their games this week, ending in a sweep of Ohio State. On Sunday, they walloped the Buckeyes 16-1 with six of the Maryland batters collecting at least two hits. Shortstop Matt Shaw drove in four runs and bashed a homer, while second baseman Kevin Keister went 3-for-4 with three RBI and one walk.
Previous Ranking: 24
16. TCU (24-12, 10-5)
After losing to Dallas Baptist in their mid-week contest the Horned Frogs bounced back by sweeping the previously third-ranked Texas Tech. TCU outscored the Red Raiders 22-10 in the series, with Elijah Nunez leading the way with a career-high five RBI on Saturday.
Previous Ranking: NR
17. NC State (23-11, 10-7)
The Wolfpack have won five games in a row after sweeping Boston College. All three games of the series were close, as NC State won 4-3, 7-6 (11 innings), and 6-3. They overcame a six-run deficit to force extras in the middle game before LuJames Groover scored on an error in the 11th. Canaan Silver struck out seven over five innings in the contest.
Previous Ranking: 21
18. Virginia (27-9, 10-8)
After getting swept by Miami last week, Virginia did no better this week as they lost two of three to Pitt. The Cavaliers committed three errors in the series finale on Sunday, with two of the four Panther runs being unearned. Virginia also couldn’t get anything going offensively as they scratched just one run across.
Previous Ranking: 9
19. Florida (22-14, 6-9)
Previous Ranking: 15
20. Texas Tech (27-12, 7-5)
Texas Tech was 0-4 this week, including being swept by TCU and they fall 17 spots in the rankings. It was the first time since 2015 the Red Raiders were swept. They didn’t record their first hit until the fifth inning in both Friday and Saturday’s games.
Previous Ranking: 3
21. Texas (26-12, 6-6)
The Longhorns lost their second Big 12 series of the season, as they were downed by Kansas State. They lost 8-5 and 8-1 in the first two games before salvaging the final game 4-2. Tristan Stevens surrendered four runs on eight hits over 6 1/3 innings on Friday. Kansas State took advantage of two errors to score two unearned runs later in the contest.
Previous Ranking: 4
22. Alabama (23-14, 8-7)
Losing to the number one team doesn’t cause Alabama to fall too far in the rankings. The Crimson Tide won the first game, 6-3, before dropping the final two games and the series. They have another big series against Georgia next weekend.
Previous Ranking: 17
23. LSU (23-12, 7-8)
Previous Ranking: 18
24. Georgia (24-8, 8-4)
The Bulldogs fall after losing a series to Texas A&M over the weekend. They lost the first game 8-1 and the last game 23-9, with the Aggies posting two six-run frames on Saturday. Starter Liam Sullivan surrendered six runs on five hits and two walks over four innings, while reliever Hank Bearden surrendered 10 runs on nine hits and two walks over just 1 1/3 innings.
Previous Ranking: 11
25. UCLA (24-11, 9-6)
lost series to Stanford
Previous Ranking: 20
Falls off rankings: Louisville, Auburn
Check us out on our socials:Ā Ā
Twitter:Ā @PTSTNewsĀ andĀ @TalkPrimeTime
Facebook Page:Ā Prime Time Sports Talk
Join our Facebook Group:Ā Prime Time Sports TalkĀ
Instagram:Ā @primetimesportstalk
Follow Alex Kielar on TwitterĀ @AlexKielar
Main Image Credit:Ā Embed from Getty Images
