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Power Rankings – Week 1: First Data Point

By drewmac20
For Whom the Cowbell Tolls

Well, at least we finally have something to work with! What did we really get, who knows. Maybe Long Beach State, Liberty and Georgia Southern are way undervalued. Perhaps TCU just had a good game/weekend in the desert. Time will tell but we will adjust a little bit here in the first week. Let’s get started.

#1 Florida – LW 1 – (3-0)

  • vs Long Beach State (FRI 8-2 W, SAT 5-2 W, SUN 3-1 W)
GatorsCountry.com

Really can’t do anything with Florida but keep them here. Solid weekend against a good name but we really don’t know what to expect from the Dirtbags this year so this is a very appealing sweep for now. On the mound, the Gators showed their embarrassment of riches, using 10 different pitchers on the weekend, while holding LBSU to just 5 runs on 17 hits.

#2 LSU – LW 2 – (3-0)

  • (FRI) ULM – 12-7 W
  • (SAT) Army – 6-5 W
  • (SUN) Air Force – 17-5 W

A little tougher weekend at the box than Tigers fans thought they would see as LSU had to come from behind both Friday and Saturday against ULM and Army. Auburn fans will understand the Army side as they watched Army take down NC State and put away any doubt that Auburn would take the Raleigh Regional last year. Going back to LSU though, this was exactly what the Tigers needed, get tested early, win a game in walk off fashion and then a Sunday blow out to send the crowd home happy.

#3 Vanderbilt – LW 4 –(2-1)

  • (FRI) Virginia – 15-9 W
  • (SAT) #24 Cal State Fullerton – 14-9 W
  • (SUN) #20 TCU – 10-2 L

Solid weekend out in the desert for the Dores, though that Sunday game is a bit concerning. Also a bit concerning are the amount of runs given up on the weekend, 28 runs is not what anyone expected form a Tim Corbin pitching staff. The offense, however, was on point for the first 2 games , scoring 29 runs in 2 games. We will move them up for now with a solid win over Cal State Fullerton and Ole Miss not going 2-0 in a shortened weekend.

#4 Ole Miss – LW 3 – (1-1)

  • vs Wright State (FRI 10-1, SAT 9-5 L, SUN Rained Out)
HoddyToddy.com

On the blush, this looks horrible for Ole Miss. Good win on Friday night but a huge loss Saturday, until you dive in and realize that Wright State has been bubbling under becoming a really good team for 2 years now and that Ole Miss had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th of the Saturday game before falling. What does it really mean? Its fine. Ole Miss travels to Tulane this weekend and there should be….should be…a sweep in order on the Bayou, at the very least a 2-1. Now, if there is anything other than those two results…

#5 Arkansas – LW 5 – (3-0)

  • vs Eastern Illinois (SAT G1 15-7 W, SAT G2 12-3 W, SUN 3-2 W)
WholeHogSports

You can never argue with a sweep, but Sunday was a bit interesting for the Hogs. After holding the Panthers to just 4 hits though the first 7 innings, the dam finally broke and EIU pushed through 2 runs to tie things up as we headed to the 9th. Curtis Washington, who was a pinch hitter that stayed in at DH, singled up the middle and the 9 hole hitter, Jacob Nesbit, laid down a perfect bunt to move Washington to second. That brought up the top of the order in the person of Casey Martin…nope Intentional Walk. Which gets you to Heston Kjerstad….oofffa….you guessed it, base hit, walk off.

#6 Auburn – LW 6 – (2-1)

  • vs Georgia Southern (FRI 11-2, SAT 7-5 L/13. SUN 4-3 W/13)

If you don’t follow College Baseball closely, you will think this should have been an easy sweep for Auburn. While Auburn had a solid chance to sweep the series, mistakes were made and a veteran GA Southern team took advantage and almost took the series. I will hold Auburn at 6 but a series win will be needed to hold this spot next week against a game UCF team.

#7 Georgia – LW 7 – (3-0)

  • vs Dayton (FRI 5-1, SAT 1 10-7 W, SAT 2 13-1)
The Red and Black

Not too sure what to say about this one. Georgia was really talented and the Flyers aren’t? Don’t get me wrong, the offense looked solid, defense looked really good, pitching was on point, but was that Georgia being that good or Dayton being that bad. We are getting into teams where this will apply so forgive me if it seems like I am fast forwarding through some of these. In the end, this was what it needed to be. A loss in this series would have sent up a few warning shots.

#8 Texas A&M – LW 8 – (3-0)

  • vs Fordham (FRI 4-0 W, SAT 19-6 W, SUN 3-1 W)

Same as above. Fordham isn’t going anywhere this season. If you want to work on stuff, watch the Sunday game since it was ”competitive” but the end was never really in doubt for the most part. We will find out all we need to know about the Aggies after the first weekend in March when the Aggies head to Houston for the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic.

#9 Mississippi State – LW 10 – (3-0)

  • vs Youngstown State (FRI 14-3, SAT G1 14-2 W, SAT G2 8-0 W)
The Clarion-Ledger

Welcome to the New Dude and it was a weekend to remember, State got down early on Friday and then never looked back against the Pens. Solid start for the Diamond Dawgs, and that’s pretty much it. This weekend will be fun though when Southern Miss comes to town. I wonder if State remembers the last time they saw the Golden Eagles when they got swept and lost their head coach in the process?

#10 Kentucky – LW 11 – (3-0)

  • @ Austin Peay (FRI 8-4 W, SAT 12-5 W, SUN 11-1 W)

For a recap of these three games, let’s go to our official correspondents, live in Clarksville, TN.

Yup, that will wrap it up from Austin Peay.

#11 South Carolina – LW 9 (2-1)

  • vs Liberty (FRI 6-5 L/11, SAT 13-7 W, SUN 3-2 W)

This deserves a raised eyebrow if not more. Personally, I thought Carolina would come out of the gate hot, ready to build on what they had last year to end the season but that is not what happened. After stumbling out of the gate Friday night, the Gamecocks bounced back with a solid Saturday win to even the series while Sunday was a dog fight and needed a, runners at the corners, wild pitch to get the walk off winner. Is that enough to wake up the team and right the ship? I don’t know but this week is interesting. Utah Valley always has a fantastic record (at least the past couple of seasons) and could be ready to really put some holes in the Cock-a-boose.

#12 Tennessee – LW 14 – (3-0)

  • vs Appalachian State (FRI 6-0 W, SAT 2-0 W, SUN 3-0)
247Sports

Solid sweep for the Vols. App State isn’t a complete slouch of a team and Tennessee took them to task all weekend long. Huge test for Tennessee this weekend though as Indiana comes to town and the talent that Chris Lemonis left is still there.

#13 Alabama – LW 12 – (2-1)

  • vs Presbyterian (FRI 7-2 W, SAT G1 4-1 L, SAT G2 9-4 W)

This is a red flag. Alabama had some real high hopes for this team but the game 2 loss is a bad sign. Presbyterian is trying to recover from a lack luster season last year so that isn’t the thing. The thing is the remaining schedule for Bama. They really need to have a stellar nonconference resume to have a real argument to get an tournament bid but a sweep was a necessity last weekend and, quite frankly, this weekend too.

#14 Missouri – LW 13 – (1-2)

  • @ North Florida (FRI 5-4 L, SAT 5-4 W, SUN 4-2 L)

You’ve got to feel for Mizzou really. They try to get geared up for a season with a glimmer of hope only to be smacked with NCAA sanctions and a postseason ban for this season. Seniors don’t have a chance transfer to a new program for the most part so now its just for love of a game as it feels like they were left out in the cold. Tough weekend against a North Florida team that isn’t supposed to cause to much noise. Sorry MU.

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