Series win vs Clemson puts Gamecocks in national rankings, knocks Tigers from one poll
Taking a series from Clemson was a landmark in setting a tone for what this South Carolina baseball season might end up being.
And a day after the Gamecocks did that with a 14-3 win in Founders Park, they broke into the rankings and knocked the Tigers out of one poll.
USC made its season debut at 24th in the D1Baseball poll and No. 20 in the Baseball America poll. Clemson fell from No. 23 to out of the D1 poll and from 14th to 21st in Baseball America.
The Gamecocks are 9-2, and host The Citadel and Gardner-Webb this week before a weekend series against Valparaiso.
South Carolina spent most of last season unranked in the two major polls before brief appearances in the low 20s in the latter half of the season. The Gamecocks finished Mark Kingston’s first season at No. 16 in the Baseball America poll and No. 14 in D1Baseball’s poll.
The Gamecocks turned over much of their lineup and staff and now will have to shuffle the rotation after losing No. 1 starter Carmen Mlodzinski.
Baseball America Top 25
Rank, Team, Record, Previous
1. Vanderbilt, 9-2, 1
2. UCLA, 9-2, 3
3. North Carolina, 11-1, 4
4. Stanford, 9-2, 7
5. Florida, 9-4, 5
6. Florida State, 10-0, 6
7. Oregon State, 10-1, 10
8. Mississippi State, 10-1, 9
9. Texas, 10-3, 19
10. LSU, 8-3, 2
11. Texas Tech, 6-3, 8
12. Ole Miss, 8-2, 13
13. Louisville, 8-3, 12
14. East Carolina, 8-4, 11
15. Georgia, 9-2, 15
16. Arkansas, 9-1, 17
17. Auburn, 9-2, 18
18. Michigan, 8-1, 20
19. Coastal Carolina, 10-2, 21
20. South Carolina, 9-2, NR
21. Clemson, 8-3, 14
22. Duke, 9-2, 22
23. NC State, 11-0, NR
24. UC Irvine, 7-3, 25
25. Baylor, 9-2, 16
D1Baseball.com Top 25
Rank, Team, Overall Record, Previous Rank
1, Vanderbilt, 9-2, 1
2, UCLA, 9-2, 4
3, North Carolina, 11-1, 5
4, Oregon State, 10-1, 6
5, Florida, 9-4, 7
6, Stanford, 9-2, 11
7, Mississippi State, 10-1, 12
8, Louisville, 8-3, 8
9, Georgia, 9-2, 9
10, Ole Miss, 8-2, 10
11, Florida State, 10-0, 13
12, Texas, 10-3, 22
13, LSU, 8-3, 2
14, Texas Tech, 6-3, 3
15, Arkansas, 9-1, 16
16, Michigan, 8-1, 17
17, Coastal Carolina, 10-2, 20
18, East Carolina, 8-4, 14
19, Auburn, 9-2, 21
20, Texas A&M, 11-2, NR
21, Baylor, 9-2, 15
22, NC State, 11-0, NR
23, TCU, 6-4, 18
24, South Carolina, 9-2, NR
25, Tennessee, 12-0, NR
Dropped Out
Oklahoma State, Clemson, Cal State Fullerton, Illinois
This story was originally published March 4, 2019 at 8:51 AM.
