April 20, 2009
DURHAM, N.C.-- Baylor dropped two spots to No. 9 in this week's Baseball America Top 25, released Monday by the publication. Despite this, the Bears remained a top-10 team for the 10th consecutive week; that is the longest such streak in program history. Baylor (25-12, 10-7) was 2-2 last week after unplayable field conditions forced the cancellation of Sunday's series finale at Oklahoma State.
UC Irvine, which Baylor defeated 5-4 at Baylor Ballpark earlier this season, jumped three spots to No. 1 in this week's ranking. The Anteaters are followed in the top 10 by Rice, Arizona State, North Carolina, Texas, LSU (last week's top-ranked team), Georgia Tech, Georgia, Baylor and Cal State Fullerton. Other Big 12 teams in this week's ranking are No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 23 Kansas State and No. 24 Texas A&M.
Baylor moved up one spot to No. 12 in this week's USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. The Bears passed Oklahoma, which dropped four spots to No. 13 after being swept at Texas over the weekend. Baylor and Oklahoma meet for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark this weekend.
The Bears face two midweek games, traveling to Sam Houston State at 6:30 p.m. CDT Tuesday and hosting Texas State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Baylor is 8-3 in midweek games this season, including a 3-2 record against Southland Conference teams; the Bears split a pair of games against Texas State and a pair of games against UT Arlington, and defeated Northwestern State.
Baylor has not yet announced a starting pitcher for either game. Sam Houston State will start southpaw Daniel Nottebart (0-0, 4.70 ERA). Texas State has announced right-hander Garrett Carruth (3-1, 4.50 ERA) as its starter for Wednesday's game.
BASEBALL AMERICA TOP 25
April 20, 2009
1. UC Irvine (26-10)
2. Rice (27-10)
3. Arizona State (28-8)
4. North Carolina (31-10)
5. Texas (29-8)
6. LSU (28-11)
7. Georgia Tech (26-8)
8. Georgia (31-8)
9. BAYLOR (25-12)
10. Cal State Fullerton (24-11)
11. Ole Miss (28-11)
12. Arkansas (26-11)
13. Oklahoma (29-11)
14. Cal Poly (27-9)
15. Virginia (30-8)
16. TCU (23-11)
17. Oregon State (23-9)
18. Miami-FL (26-13)
19. San Diego State (26-15)
20. Hawai'i (24-13)
21. Florida State (25-12)
22. Alabama (27-13)
23. Kansas State (29-11)
24. Texas A&M (25-14)
25. Kent State (28-8)
2009 Baylor opponents in bold.
