Overall Record: 16-4
SEC: 2-1
Last Week’s Results (3-1)
March 14 (Wed.) – NORTHWESTERN STATE (W, 13-0)
March 16 (Fri.) – MISSISSIPPI STATE (W, 3-2, 10 innings)
March 17 (Sat.) – MISSISSIPPI STATE (W, 4-3)
March 18 (Sun.) – MISSISSIPPI STATE (L, 1-7)
Notes on the Tigers
LSU won two of three games over Mississippi State in the Tigers’ opening SEC series last weekend in Alex Box Stadium … the series win was LSU’s sixth straight over the Bulldogs … sophomore right-hander Kevin Gausman turned in another stellar effort in Friday’s win over Mississippi State, limiting the Bulldogs to one run on four hits in 8.2 innings with four walks and a career-best 11 strikeouts … Gausman is 4-0 on the year with a 1.25 ERA, and he’s recorded six walks and 42 strikeouts in 36 innings of work … junior rightfielder Raph Rhymes helped lead the Tigers to the series victory over Mississippi State, batting .556 (5-for-9) in three games with three walks and a .667 on-base percentage … Rhymes hit .538 (7-for-13) in the Tigers’ four games last week with four RBI … sophomore second baseman JaCoby Jones was 4-for-12 over the weekend with one double and two RBI, including the game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th inning in Friday’s 3-2 win over MSU … the extra-inning game on Friday was LSU’s first since June 4, 2010 when the Tigers defeated UC Irvine, 11-10, in 11 innings at the NCAA Los Angeles Regional … LSU did not play an extra-inning game during the 2011 season … sophomore right-hander Ryan Eades earned his fourth win of the year Saturday when he defeated Mississippi State with a seven-inning effort .. Eades limited the Bulldogs to one run on eight hits in seven innings with one walk and two strikeouts … Eades is 4-1 on the season with a 1.95 ERA and four walks and 27 strikeouts in 32.1 innings … junior first baseman Mason Katz collected five RBI in four games last week, including a two-run homer in Saturday’s win over Mississippi State, his fourth dinger of the season … junior right-hander Nick Goody earned his second save of the year on Saturday night, striking out the final Mississippi State batter with runners on first and second and LSU holding a 4-3 lead … sophomore right-hander Nick Rumbelow made three appearances last week in LSU’s four games, firing two scoreless innings with no hits, one walk and four strikeouts … LSU utilized a school-record nine pitchers in last Wednesday’s 13-0 win over Northwestern State in Alex Box Stadium; the previous school mark for single-game pitching appearances was eight … the shutout was LSU’s sixth of the season through the first 17 games – the Tigers had only four shutouts during the entire 2011 season.
Baseball America Top 25
Rk. Team, W-L, Last Week, Prev.
1. Florida, 19-1, 4-0, 1
2. Stanford, 13-2, 0-0, 2
3. Arkansas, 19-2, 5-0, 4
4. North Carolina, 16-4, 3-2, 5
5. Arizona, 16-4, 3-2, 6
6. Florida State, 16-2, 2-1, 7
7. UCLA, 15-4, 3-1, 9
8. South Carolina, 15-4, 2-3, 3
9. Rice, 15-6, 2-2, 8
10. Texas A&M, 16-5, 3-2, 10
11. LSU, 16-4, 3-1, 13
12. Miami, 16-4, 4-1, 14
13. Cal State Fullerton, 12-7, 2-2, 15
14. Arizona State, 12-7, 2-3, 11
15. Georgia Tech, 14-6, 3-1, 16
16. Kentucky, 21-0, 5-0, NR
17. Mississippi, 15-5, 2-3, 12
18. Georgia, 15-6, 4-1, 18
19. Oregon State, 14-5, 3-0, 25
20. North Carolina State, 15-3, 4-0, 23
21. Central Florida, 16-5, 3-1, 19
22. Texas, 10-8, 4-0, NR
23. Texas State, 13-6, 2-2, 20
24. Oregon, 13-5, 1-2, 17
25. Purdue, 14-3, 3-2, 24
Dropped out: Mississippi State (21), Oklahoma (22).
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Div. I Poll
Rank School (Record) Points Previous
1. Florida (19-1) 498 1
2. Kentucky (21-0) 493 16
3. Stanford (13-2) 492 3
4. Arkansas (19-2) 489 5
5. Florida St. (16-2) 486 6
6. South Carolina (15-4) 484 2
7. North Carolina (16-4) 482 4
8. LSU (16-4) 479 10
9. Miami, Fla. (16-4) 476 11
10. Rice (15-6) 475 7
11. N.C. State (15-3) 471 19
12. Cal. St. Fullerton (12-7) 470 8
13. Texas A&M (16-5) 468 9
14. Arizona (16-4) 465 13
15. Stetson (15-4) 464 14
16. UCLA (15-4) 460 17
17. Oregon (13-5) 458 12
18. Arizona St. (12-7) 452 18
19. Texas Christian (11-6) 451 –
20. Georgia Tech. (14-6) 450 20
21. Texas (10-8) 447 –
22. Louisville (14-6) 446 22
23. Georgia (15-6) 444 23
24. Purdue (14-3) 441 26
25. Oregon St. (14-5) 439 28
26. Mississippi (15-5) 437 15
27. Baylor (14-7) 434 –
28. Central Florida (16-5) 432 29
29. Appalachian St. (17-3) 429 –
30. Texas St. (13-6) 424 30
USA TODAY/ESPN TOP 25 COACHES’ POLL
Rank School (record) Points, Previous, First-place votes
1. Florida (19-1) 775 1 (31)
2. Stanford (13-2) 735 2
3. Arkansas (19-2) 690 7
4. Florida State (16-2) 653 6
5. North Carolina (16-4) 627 4
6. Kentucky (21-0) 549 20
7. Rice (15-6) 527 5
8. South Carolina (15-4) 526 3
9. Miami (Fla.) (16-4) 523 10
10. Texas A&M (16-5) 508 8
11. Arizona (16-4) 457 9
12. UCLA (15-4) 448 12
13. LSU (16-4) 365 16
14. Georgia Tech (14-6) 351 14
15. Cal State-Fullerton (12-7) 341 11
16. Oregon State (14-5) 271 24
17. Georgia (15-6) 241 19
18. Oregon (13-5) 231 13
19. Mississippi (15-5) 217 15
20. North Carolina State (15-3) 191 25
21. Central Florida (16-5) 128 23
22. Louisville (14-6) 104 NR
23. TCU (11-6) 84 NR
24. Purdue (14-3) 76 NR
25. Texas (10-8) 65 NR
Dropped out: No. 17 Oklahoma (11-9), No. 18 California (11-7), No. 21 Southern California (13-6), No. 22 Mississippi State (15-7).
Others receiving votes: Liberty 46; Baylor 39; East Carolina 35; Southern California 31; Stetson 31; Appalachian State 28; Pepperdine 28; Clemson 24; California 23; Mississippi State 19; Oklahoma 18; San Diego 14; Cal Poly 11; Texas State 10; UC-Irvine 9; Maryland 8; College of Charleston 5; Missouri 5; Hawaii 3; Campbell 2; Indiana State 1; Missouri State 1; Washington 1.