Saturday Summary:
– First team to sweep No. 1 since April 2016
– Second top 5 sweep (Arkansas)
– 17th comeback win
– 15th win vs. a ranked opponent
– Second six-run inning in as many days (prior to Friday, no team had done it once vs. UF in 2018)#HailState? pic.twitter.com/EXLr6anJAH— MSU Baseball ⚾ (@HailStateBB) May 20, 2018
The Mississippi State Bulldogs surged into the Baseball America Top 25 with a sweep of top-ranked Florida last weekend, according to the poll released Monday.
The Bulldogs, playing at home, downed the Gators 6-3, 12-4 and 13-6 in the biggest surprise of the week in the Southeastern Conference.
Despite the three losses, Florida remained No. 1 in the national rankings leading into the SEC tournament that starts Tuesday at Hoover, Ala.
The Bulldogs open play in the tournament ranked 25th.
Baseball America
Top 25 – May 21
1. Florida 41-15 SEC
2. Oregon State 42-9-1 Pac-12
3. Stanford 43-8 Pac-12
4. Ole Miss 42-14 SEC
5. North Carolina 37-17 ACC
6. Clemson 43-13 ACC
7. Texas Tech 38-15 Big 12
8. Georgia 37-17 SEC
9. Arkansas 37-17 SEC
10. N.C. State 40-14 ACC
11. Minnesota 37-13 Big Ten
12. Duke 39-14 ACC
13. Florida State 39-17 ACC
14. Texas 37-18 Big 12
15. Coastal Carolina 38-17 Sun Belt
16. UCLA 35-17 Pac-12
17. Southern Miss 39-15 Conference USA
18. Houston 33-21 American
19. East Carolina 39-15 American
20. Stetson 41-11 Atlantic Sun
21. Tennessee Tech 46-7 Ohio Valley
22. South Carolina 32-22 SEC
23. Auburn 37-19 SEC
24. Missouri State 35-15 Missouri Valley
25. Mississippi State 31-24 SEC
The 2018 #AmericanBSB Pitcher of the Year is @UHCougarBB's Aaron Fletcher!
The Cougar junior led the conference with his 1.82 ERA and also ranked in the top 10 in the conference with 75 strikeouts (8.04 per nine innings).
?: https://t.co/B9BCmHvyYD pic.twitter.com/gcnaRQYO5M
— American Baseball (@American_BSB) May 21, 2018
Conference tournaments
SEC — at Hoover, Ala., Tuesday – Sunday
Big 12 — at Oklahoma City, Wednesday – Sunday
Big Ten — at Omaha, Neb., Wednesday – Sunday
ACC — at Durham, N.C., Tuesday – Sunday
Pac-12 — No tournament
American — at Clearwater, Fla., Tuesday – Sunday
Big East — at Mason, Ohio, Thursday – Sunday
Conference USA — at Biloxi, Miss., Wednesday – Sunday
Sun Belt — at Lafayette, La., Tuesday – Sunday
Southland — at Sugar Land, Wednesday – Saturday
NCAA projections
Mood: pic.twitter.com/pFJVnn6cwk
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) May 20, 2018
D1 Baseball, in its weekly projections of the 64-team NCAA tournament, listed four teams from both the SEC and from the Atlantic Coast Conference as No. 1 seeds hosting first-roud regionals.
The website projected that Florida, Georgia, Arkansas and Ole Miss from the SEC and North Carolina, North Carolina State, Florida State and Clemson from the ACC all would host.
Two teams from the Big 12 — both Texas Tech and Texas — are also projected as No. 1s hosting on the first weekend.
Texas won the Big 12 regular-season title last weekend after sweeping a three-game series against TCU.
Other teams from the state projected to make it into the NCAA field include Houston (a No. 2 seed), Texas A&M, Baylor, Dallas Baptist and Sam Houston State (all No. 3s) and Texas Southern (as a No. 4).
Sam Houston State claimed the Southland Conference title in San Antonio last week with a sweep of Incarnate Word.
Incarnate Word head baseball coach Patrick Hallmark (right) talks things over with Sam Houston State coach Matt Deggs during Thursday night’s game. – photo by Joe Alexander