College baseball notebook: Vols' clear dominance makes them consensus No. 1 after sweep of Florida
Tennessee's dominance through the first month of the season has become so apparent that one of the most authoritative college baseball media outlets demoted an LSU team on a 15-game winning streak from No. 1 in its Top 25 and replaced the Tigers with the Volunteers on Monday.
At 20-0, the Vols are the only remaining unbeaten team in Division I. They're off to the best start in program history and coming off a three-game home sweep against what was a top-10 Florida.
D1Baseball.com promoted the defending national champions over a now-No. 2 LSU (15-1) that went 4-0 last week and swept Missouri. D1Baseball said that since it began its rankings in 2015, it had never taken a No. 1 team off the top perch after an unbeaten week.
Tennessee, ranked No. 1 by Baseball America for a third straight week, is now the consensus top team. Arkansas (18-2) remains No. 3.
“Just got to keep going,” said Cannon Peebles, whose pinch double gave Tennessee the lead in a 7-4 win Sunday. “Last year we were very fortunate to do what we did. Last year doesn't really matter anymore. Every single person on this team is focused on this year and we take it game by game, and I think that's why we've had this start.”
There are no weaknesses. Liam Doyle, who leads the nation with 53 strikeouts, heads a staff that ranks first with a 1.72 ERA and 5.61 hits allowed per nine innings. Offensively, the Vols lead the nation with 2.65 homers per game and .662 slugging percentage and are second at 11.3 runs per game.
Tennessee hosts East Tennessee State (15-4) on Tuesday before traveling to a top-10 Alabama (20-1) for a Thursday-to-Saturday series. The Crimson Tide swept Texas A&M on the road over the weekend.
Swattin' SasakiIt took 66 at-bats for Stanford freshman Rintaro Sasaki to break through with his first collegiate home run. Japan's all-time high school leader went deep three times over six at-bats Saturday and Sunday as the Cardinal swept Duke. He was 6 of 14 with eight RBIs in the series and is batting .338/.424/.500 through 18 games.
Sudden surgeNorthwestern's Trent Liolios had three homers in a 13-5 win over Penn State and a total of four in the doubleheader split Saturday. Liolios had nine homers and batted .209 in 52 games last season. So far this season he has eight homers and a .382 batting average through 17 games.
Devil of a timeArizona State's offense, held to a combined four runs in two straight losses last week, unleashed some pent-up frustration in the second game of its road series with TCU on Saturday.
The Sun Devils won 26-9, the most runs they've scored in a conference game since 2000 and tied for the most TCU has ever allowed. ASU's 28 hits also were a TCU opponent record. Kyle Walker hit the first of ASU's five homers leading off the game. The Sun Devils won 12-11 on Sunday to take the series.
Cleanup spotKansas (17-3) hit nine home runs while winning two of three against Baylor. The Jayhawks, who are third in the nation in scoring at 10.4 runs per game, have gone deep 46 times through 20 games. Jackson Hauge, a transfer from Division II Mankato State, has a team-best 11. ... Oregon State's Ethan Kleinschmit has allowed just six hits and a run with two walks and 15 strikeouts in his last 11 2/3 innings over two appearances. ... Florida State left-hander Wes Mendes allowed no earned runs and struck out eight over a career-high seven innings as the Seminoles beat Boston College 6-2 Saturday to complete a three-game sweep. ... Texas Southern stole 17 bases in a 20-7 win over Mississippi Valley State on Friday, the most since Alabama State had the same number of steals against Tuskegee in 1991.
___
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
-
Florida baseball drops first game of SEC play vs. Tennessee Vols
Florida had its chance to win its first game of SEC baseball in 2025, but the Tennessee Volunteers came out on top Friday night.Yahoo Sports - 2d -
No. 4 FSU baseball sweeps ACC opener against Boston College with doubleheader victory
Florida State baseball completed a sweep of Boston College with a pair of wins in a doubleheader on Saturday, hitting five home runs in two games.Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Inside Tennessee baseball's nine-run seventh inning to crush Florida
Tennessee baseball scored nine runs in the seventh inning to run-rule Florida, clinching the Vols' first SEC series of the season.Yahoo Sports - 1d -
COLLEGE BASEBALL: OC takes games one and two at NMMI
Mar. 17—ROSWELL, N.M. — The Odessa College baseball team won the first two of its four-game series against New Mexico Military Institute Sunday on the road. Playing in the Western Junior College ...Yahoo Sports - 7h -
Sold out: No tickets left for Florida-Florida State college baseball in Jacksonville
Here's the latest on tickets for the Florida-Florida State college baseball game next week at Jacksonville's VyStar Ballpark.Yahoo Sports - 2h -
COLLEGE BASEBALL: UTPB takes series against Cameron University
Mar. 17—LAWTON, Okla. — The UTPB baseball team got its first winning series of the season against Cameron University this past weekend. The Falcons won by scores of 12-2, 9-6 and 13-8 after losing ...Yahoo Sports - 7h -
Florida baseball can't prevent sweep against Tennessee Volunteers
Florida took its first lead of the weekend against Tennessee in the fourth inning, but the Volunteers rallied to complete the sweep.Yahoo Sports - 1d -
SEC baseball weekend recap: LSU, Alabama, and Tennessee bring out the brooms
It was an exciting opening weekend of baseball for the SEC. Tennessee notched a sweep of a top 10 opponent while Auburn wins on a grand slam.Yahoo Sports - 12h -
Updated first pitch time announced in Tennessee-Florida baseball series
Tennessee announced a first pitch time change for its baseball game against Florida.Yahoo Sports - 3d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Twins’ Royce Lewis will miss start of season after hurting his hamstring
Lewis is coming off a 2024 season that saw him appear in just 82 games due to quadriceps and adductor issues.Yahoo Sports - 1h -
Texans to pick up Derek Stingley's Jr.'s fifth-year option ahead of extension
The Houston Texans will have Derek Stingley Jr. under contract through 2029 after agreeing to pick up one final year on his rookie deal.Yahoo Sports - 4h -
MLB hyped up a video game-like replay view from the Tokyo Dome and fans justifiably hated it
The on-field replay did not go over how MLB expected.Yahoo Sports - 6h -
The Players Championship 2025 prize money: Full payout from the $25 million purse
Here's how the $25 million purse will be paid out this week at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.Yahoo Sports - 23h -
Auburn basketball’s first round opponent revealed ahead of 2025 NCAA Tournament
Auburn basketball will face either Alabama State or St. Francis in March Madness to open its 2025 NCAA Tournament men’s bracket.Yahoo Sports - 1d
More in Sports
-
March Madness 2025 bracket: NCAA Tournament picks, predictions from advanced college basketball model
SportsLine's model has nailed 20 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds and revealed its NCAA Tournament bracket 2025CBS Sports - 17m -
March Madness always delivers Cinderella upsets: Here's how Bucknell delivered one of the biggest 20 years ago
Kansas losing to Bucknell in 2005 shows what can happen in the Big DanceCBS Sports - 18m -
The women’s March Madness bracket is here -- so is your guide to all 68 teams
We look at every team in the women's NCAA bracket.ESPN - 32m -
Let the fun begin: Make your picks for the women's tournament
Compete with friends and family to show off your skills by creating or joining a group now!ESPN - 32m -
Your guide to all 68 teams in the men’s NCAA tournament
The bracket is set, here's everything you need to know about the competitors for this year's national title.ESPN - 32m