March 27, 2006
NORFOLK, VA-- The ODU Baseball Monarchs (25-3), winners of 14 straightmoved up to 27th in the COLLEGIATE BASEBALL top 30.
ODU hosts Maryland on Wednesday night, then host 25th ranked James Madisonthis weekend in a big CAA series.
Through 28 games, Dana Arrowood leads the team with a .461 batting average.He also has three saves and a 2.03 ERA. Jimmy Miles is second on theteam with a .432 batting average. He leads the CAA in stolen baseswith 26 in 29 attempts. Patrick Nichols still leads the team in homerswith ten. Bryan Cipolla still leads with 31 RBI, but Arrowood is secondwith 30 and Mike Zahm has 29.
In pitching, Jason Godin is 6-0 and has three complete games. He hasfanned 59 batters in 53 innings with a 3.74 ERA. Kevin Gunter is 4-2with two complete games and a 3.64 ERA. Hunter Hall is 5-0 and freshmanDan Hudson is 4-0. ODU's overall team ERA is 3.32, while the Monarchsare hitting .348.
The 25-3 start is the best start since the 1994. That team was also25-3 after 28 games. THe 9-0 start in CAA play is the best ever forODU.
Florida St. (25-2) has been ranked No. 1 for the third consecutive time in Collegiate Baseball newspaper's poll of NCAA Division I baseball.
Poll Notes: South Carolina and Cal. St. Fullerton are currently two of the hottest teams in the nation. The Gamecocks swept a 3-game series against Florida over the past weekend and were 5-0 last week. The Titans swept a 3-game series against Long Beach St. and have won 11 of their last 12. After suffering a tough stretch one week ago, Clemson has now won five in a row. Defending national champion Texas made a significant move this week after sweeping a 3-game series against Oklahoma St. and beating Rice at home. The Longhorns started the year off poorly but have now won four straight and 10 of their last 12. Old Dominion continues to have a superb season with a 25-3 overall record and 14 wins in a row.
Teams that suffered a tough week and fell out of the poll this week include Florida (losses in 5 of last 6 games, including 4 in a row), North Carolina St. (4 straight losses), Stanford (0-2), Kansas St. (1-2), Creighton (1-2), and Cal Poly SLO (1-5).
The Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1957 college baseball season.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's
NCAA Div. I Poll
(As of March 27, 2006)
Rank School (Record) Points Previous
1. Florida St. (25-2) 495 1
2. Mississippi St. (19-1) 494 3
3. Nebraska (17-3) 492 2
4. Georgia Tech. (20-4) 488 4
5. South Carolina (22-3) 486 7
6. Cal. St. Fullerton (20-7)484 8
7. Rice (20-8) 483 5
8. North Carolina (20-5) 481 6
9. Clemson (16-6) 479 13
10. Texas (19-10) 477 16
11. Miami, Fla. (23-7) 472 12
12. Arizona St. (21-7) 469 17
13. Wichita St. (21-5) 466 11
14. Virginia (22-5) 465 21
15. Louisiana St. (19-7) 463 14
16. Alabama (19-8) 460 -
17. Vanderbilt (17-7) 456 -
18. Oregon St. (15-7) 453 19
19. Georgia (17-5) 452 -
20. Arkansas (20-5) 450 10
21. Kentucky (20-5) 448 26
22. Tennessee (17-7) 447 15
23. Oklahoma (20-6) 445 22
24. Baylor (16-8) 443 23
25. James Madison (19-5) 440 25
26. Winthrop (21-5) 436 29
27. Old Dominion (25-3) 434 30
28. Washington St. (20-6) 431 -
29. Missouri (15-8) 430 -
30. Tulane (17-9) 428 -