With the college baseball regular season about halfway over, teams have their identities and look to continue to fight for a spot in the tournament. Some teams kept running through opponents, while others had off weeks. There were upsets, surprises, and a lot of great action. Let’s get into the rankings.
Be sure to catch up on the previous rankings: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6
1. Tennessee (31-1, 12-0)
This team just can’t be stopped right now. The Volunteers still just have one loss, to Texas, and are perfect in SEC play so far. Their 12-0 start, following a sweep over Missouri, is a conference record. They are now one win away from matching an SEC winning streak record of 24 in a row by Texas A&M in 2015. Tennessee’s seven sweeps on the season are a program record, and we’re only in April.
WALSH SLAMS THE DOOR. PUT IT IN THE RECORD BOOKS. THE BEST START IN SEC HISTORY.
Tennesse moves to 12-0 in the SEC and 31-1 on the season. pic.twitter.com/1u585NWYgw
— 11Point7: The College Baseball Podcast 🎙 (@11point7) April 10, 2022
Previous Ranking: 1
2. Miami (26-6, 13-2)
Miami doesn’t just keep proving to everyone that they are for real, but they are doing it in big ways. This weekend, they took it to previously third-ranked Virginia by sweeping the Cavaliers. The Hurricanes have now won 13 games in a row. Their only two losses in ACC action were against Clemson and Boston College as they continue to roll through opponents.
Get out the brooms!! No. 8 Miami sweeps the weekend series against No. 3 Virginia. 🧹🧹🧹#NCAABaseball x 🎥 @CanesBaseball pic.twitter.com/WxLjTFUvV6
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) April 11, 2022
Previous Ranking: 6
3. Texas Tech (27-8, 7-2)
The Red Raiders continue to perform well in conference action, sweeping Kansas State as they have taken every Big 12 series so far. They did, however, hit a bit of a rough patch this week, losing two straight to Grand Canyon in the early week games. On Saturday, junior right-hander Brandon Birdsell struck out 12 batters over six innings.
Previous Ranking: 4
4. Texas (24-10, 5-4)
After losing a series to Texas Tech, the Longhorns have bounced back and won their last two Big 12 series. In a rivalry matchup against TCU, Texas took the rubber match on Sunday. First baseman Ivan Melendez smacked his 14th homer of the season in the 7-3 win.
Ivan Melendez gets back on track today with the 2-run homer! pic.twitter.com/DrGisPGlGi
— Hook’em Headlines (@HookemHeadlines) April 10, 2022
Previous Ranking: 5
5. Notre Dame (20-5, 8-4)
Since being swept by Louisville in mid-March, the Irish have been rolling as they have won eight in a row. Following their sweep of Florida State last weekend, Notre Dame returned this weekend to sweep Clemson. They never trailed once in the series, outscoring the Tigers 21-5. Senior right-hander Alex Rao earned the save while pitching 3 2/3 innings of relief while not allowing a hit in the 9-3 win on Sunday.
Eck was a launching pad this weekend!@jaredmiller1616 and @ryan_cole13 both send out solo blasts on Sunday in the 9-3 win to sweep the series!#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/oQrjNheci6
— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) April 11, 2022
Previous Ranking: 9
6. Oklahoma State (23-9, 7-2)
Oklahoma State took the final two games of their series against Oklahoma to win their third Big 12 series in three tries. The Cowboys won a thriller on Saturday night, or rather early Sunday morning, 8-7. Marcus Brown singled to start the ninth and scored the winning run on a wild pitch to walk it off. Freshman Roc Riggio went 3-for-5 with two homers in the win. One of the blasts was a three-run shot in the eighth to tie the game at seven. It was an easier win on Sunday, as Oklahoma State won 9-4.
Previous Ranking: 8
7. Oregon State (24-7, 10-5)
The Beavers have won four straight after sweeping USC this weekend. It was Oregon State’s first sweep of USC on the Trojan’s home turf. To complete the sweep, they scored four runs in the eighth inning on Sunday and did it without recording a hit. The runs came in on a bases-loaded walk, hit-by-pitch, fielder’s choice, and a wild pitch. They took advantage of six walks in the game.
OKLAHOMA STATE WINS BEDLAM. POKES TIED WITH TEXAS TECH FOR FIRST IN THE BIG12 pic.twitter.com/fDHCNk9fhA
— 11Point7: The College Baseball Podcast 🎙 (@11point7) April 10, 2022
Previous Ranking: 11
8. Arkansas (23-7, 8-4)
The Razorbacks lost their first SEC series of the season, losing the final two games to Florida. It was actually their first conference series loss since 2019 when they lost to Texas A&M. Outside of Connor Noland‘s seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts on Thursday, Arkansas struggled pitching-wise. Freshman southpaw Hagen Smith surrendered seven runs on seven hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings on Friday.
Previous Ranking: 2
9. Virginia (26-6, 9-6)
Given that it was a top-10 matchup, the Cavaliers don’t fall outside the top 10 after their sweep at the hands of Miami. The Hurricanes have been rolling and it would’ve been tough for any team to play them right now. Virginia will look to bounce back in ACC action with a series against Pitt this coming weekend.
Previous Ranking: 3
10. Stanford (17-10, 9-6)
Stanford has won three straight Pac-12 series after sweeping Arizona State this weekend. The Cardinal erupted on Sunday for 16 runs on 22 hits, including two homers from senior Vincent Martinez. Martinez homered in all three games against the Sun Devils and had six RBI in the game. Freshman Braden Montgomery also homered in all three games, while sophomore Carter Graham finished the weekend going 6-for-12 with six runs scored, a double, a homer, and seven RBI.
𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 @vincent_jm04
This grand slam from Vincent Martinez broke a 5-5 tie and was the first of his two homers on the afternoon!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/65YExhhbvL
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) April 11, 2022
Previous Ranking: 19
11. Georgia (24-8, 8-4)
The Bulldogs won another SEC series after sweeping Florida last week, taking two of three from South Carolina. The bats broke out on Sunday for 13 runs on 13 hits, and they batted around in the fourth. Senior Chaney Rogers smashed a three-run homer in the first to cap a five-run inning.
Previous Ranking: 16
12. Auburn (22-10, 7-5)
In a very stacked SEC, Auburn is showing the country that they belong. In their third straight conference series win, they took the first and last games against Vanderbilt. Sophomore right-hander Joseph Gonzalez twirled a complete-game gem Sunday while allowing just one earned run on eight hits and no walks and striking out eight. It was Auburn’s first complete game in conference play since Casey Mize in 2018.
JOSEPH GONZALEZ COMPLETE GAME 8 KS 🔥🔥
Auburn takes the series over Vanderbilt. Their 3rd straight SEC series win. pic.twitter.com/saOgu9WcLh
— 11Point7: The College Baseball Podcast 🎙 (@11point7) April 10, 2022
Previous Ranking: 20
13. Louisville (23-8, 9-3)
The Cardinals bounced back from their series loss to Pitt last weekend by taking two of three from North Carolina. Both Louisville wins were grind-out wins, with Saturday going 10 innings and Sunday’s 14. On Saturday, senior Ben Metzinger launched a walk-off homer before Isaac Humphrey lined a ball off the right-field wall in the 14th inning. Sunday’s game took five hours of game time and seven total hours after a stadium emergency.
BEN METZINGER WALK OFF BOMB. SERIES TIED 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LSf2tCjhej
— 11Point7: The College Baseball Podcast 🎙 (@11point7) April 9, 2022
Previous Ranking: 15
14. Gonzaga (21-8, 9-3)
In a crazy week for the bats, the Zags scored 51 runs while surrendering 30. In a slugfest on Sunday, Gonzaga outlasted San Francisco, 17-13. The Bulldogs finished with 15 hits, with four different batters having multi-hit games and eight batters driving in at least one run. Enzo Apodaca went 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs, Grayson Sterling (3 RBI, 2 runs) went 2-for-3 with a team-high three walks, Ezra Samperi (1 run, 3 RBI) went 3-for-5, and Tyler Rando (3 runs, 2 RBI) went 2-for-5. The 39 runs Gonzaga scored in the series are the most they have scored in a three-game series since 2019.
Previous Ranking: 17
15. Florida (21-11, 5-7)
After getting swept by Georgia last week, the Gators bounced back with a series win over top 10 seeded Arkansas. They lost the first game of the series but took the final two. Sophomore Wyatt Langford (4) and junior BT Riopelle (3) combined to record seven RBI on Sunday, while freshman Deric Fabian provided the heroics with a go-ahead sac fly in the eighth. Ryan Slater and Blaker Purnell allowed just one run over 5 1/3 innings in relief to close the game and the series.
Previous Ranking: 23
16. Virginia Tech (20-8, 7-6)
The Hokies join the rankings after winning a big ACC series against NC State. That follows a conference series win over North Carolina last weekend and puts their ACC record over .500. Virginia Tech outscore NC State 29-12 in the first two games. Freshman right-hander Drue Hackenberg twirled seven shutout innings on Saturday to help secure their first series win against the Wolfpack in program history. They are now 7-1 against the ACC and 5-2 against ranked teams over their last 10 games.
Previous Ranking: NR
17. Alabama (21-12, 7-5)
The Crimson Tide have won six in a row after sweeping Ole Miss this weekend. Sophomore Grayson Hitt picked up his third win on the season while striking out a career-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The sweep is Alabama’s first of Ole Miss since 2014 when the Rebels were the ninth-ranked team. It was a similar situation, as Ole Miss was the 10th-ranked team this time.
Previous Ranking: NR
18. LSU (23-9, 7-5)
The Tigers have won four games in a row and move up in the rankings after sweeping Mississippi State this weekend. Freshman right fielder Josh Pearson homered twice on Sunday while collecting five RBI. Centerfielder Dylan Crews doubled and drove in two runs while second baseman Cade Doughty homered, doubled, and collected two RBI. Freshman right-hander Grant Taylor went four innings in relief and struck out six while allowing two runs on five hits to earn the win.
Previous Ranking: 24
19. Southern Mississippi (23-8, 10-2)
Southern Mississippi has won every Conference-USA series and swept Charlotte this weekend. The Golden Eagles also picked up a big non-conference win on Tuesday, defeating Ole Miss 10-7. It took extras on Sunday to complete the sweep, but Will McGillis smashed a go-ahead homer in the top of the 13th which proved to be the game-winner. The Golden Eagles have now won five games in a row and 13 of 15 and deserve to be in the rankings.
Previous Ranking: NR
20. UCLA (22-8, 8-3)
I still don’t fully believe in this UCLA team to put them any higher in these rankings, for now. If they keep having series as they have had, I will have no choice. They have now won four series in a row after taking two of three from USC. The Bruins were unable to complete the sweep on Sunday, but they scratched out the first two games, 6-5 (10) and 4-3.
Previous Ranking: 25
21. NC State (19-11, 7-7)
They were able to salvage the sweep on Sunday, but the Wolfpack dropped their third ACC series on the season to Virginia Tech. Freshman Tommy White mashed his 13th homer on the season, his first since March 27.
Previous Ranking: 12
22. Vanderbilt (22-9, 5-7)
It has been a struggle for the Commodores as they have lost three straight SEC series after losing two of three to Auburn. Sophomore right-hander Patrick Reilly lasted just two innings on Sunday while surrendering six runs on six hits and three walks. Will they bounce back and stay in the rankings next week?
Previous Ranking: 13
23. UConn (24-7, 3-0)
The Huskies swept their first Big East series this weekend against St. John’s and rejoin the rankings. After winning 12-7 on Friday, they outscored the Red Storm 23-0 in the last two games. Sophomore right-hander Pat Gallagher was masterful on Saturday, pitching a complete game shutout while allowing four hits and one walk and striking out seven. Senior Eric Stock smashed a grand slam on Sunday, while right-hander Enzo Stefanoni recorded seven shutout innings.
Previous Ranking: NR
24. Maryland (25-7, 4-2)
Maryland took their second Big Ten series in two tries, taking two of three from Minnesota as they rejoin the rankings. It took a four-run fourth inning on Saturday for the Terps to take the series, after they won Friday’s game 11-7. They won their first Big Ten series last week over Penn State.
Previous Ranking: NR
25. Georgia Tech (21-12, 7-8)
After losing their series to Virginia last week, the Yellow Jackets came back to take a big series over Florida State and are back in the rankings. Georgia Tech crushed the Seminoles, 10-0, on Sunday, behind a career start from right-hander Marquis Grissom, Jr. and a multi-hit game from Kevin Parada and Jadyn Jackson.
Previous Ranking: NR
Falls off rankings: Texas State, Florida State, Arizona, North Carolina, Ole Miss
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