Alabama College Baseball Division I Weekly Update

Auburn and Alabama State enter the week with the longest winning streaks among the state of Alabama’s Division I teams. Auburn enters the week with an 8-game winning streak, while Alabama State has won seven straight games. (PHOTO: Auburn Media Relations)

The Tigers play five games this weekend, hosting Georgia Tech, Wofford and Texas A&M in the opening weekend of SEC play. The Hornets also play five games, hosting Valparaiso and Alcorn State this week.

Auburn senior first baseman Rankin Woley has been selected as the Bats and Blogs Alabama Division I Player of the Week after his performance against Chicago State. Auburn junior RHP Tanner Burns and Alabama State junior RHP Jacknell Guzman was selected as the Bats and Blogs Alabama Division I co-Pitchers of the Week. Burns took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Chicago State, while Guzman had 16 strikeouts in the complete-game win at Miss. Valley State.

Alabama Division I Baseball Update

Alabama (12-0) is off to the second-best start in program history. The 1997 College World Series runner-up opened the season with a 15-0 record. Alabama opened the 1988 season with an 11-0 mark, which is now the third-best in school history.

The Crimson Tide is one of eight undefeated NCAA Division I college baseball teams. Florida, Mercer, North Carolina State, St. Bonaventure, Tennessee, Texas A&M and UCLA are also undefeated.

In addition to the Crimson Tide, Alabama State, Auburn and Samford have reached the 10-win mark. North Alabama had a combined no-hitter in a 1-0 win over Belmont on Feb. 25. It was one of five Division I no-hitters last week. There have been nine Division I no-hitters this season.

Jacksonville State first baseman Andrew Naismith was named the Bats and Blogs Alabama Division I Player of the Week, while Alabama A&M right-hander Fernando Diaz, Jr., was named the Bats and Blogs Alabama Division I Pitcher of the Week.

Alabama Division I Baseball Notebook

Alabama is the lone undefeated team in the state of Alabama, posting a perfect 7-0 record through the first two weeks of the season. The seven-game winning streak is the second longest active streak in the state behind fellow Tuscaloosa County resident, Shelton State. The Bucs have won nine straight games after a successful weekend in Panama City.

Alabama right fielder Tyler Gentry and catcher Sam Praytor are the Bats and Blog co-Players of the Week, while Troy junior RHP Levi Thomas was named the after the opening weekend of the season.

In four games against Alabama State and UNLV, Gentry was 6-for-16 (.375) with four runs scores, two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs. Praytor was 4-for-9 with three runs scored, three home runs and five RBIs in the UNLV series. Both had multi home run games in Vegas.

For the second straight week, Troy’s Levi Thomas is the Bats and Blogs Pitcher of the Week after leading the Trojans to a 4-0 win over Louisiana Tech in the series opener last Friday. Three Troy pitchers combined on the 1-hitter in the series opener. Thomas continued his dominant start to the season with six no-hit innings and 11 strikeouts. In his two starts, Thomas has allowed only two hits in 11 scoreless innings with 26 strikeouts.

A new feature this season will be a weekly update on small college baseball (Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA) in the state of Alabama. In the latest edition of the Alabama College Baseball Update, here is a recap of the opening weekend of the NCAA Division I baseball season. Here is a look at this week’s Alabama Division I college baseball news and notes.

Alabama College Baseball Schedule (Friday, Feb. 21-Thursday, Feb. 27)

Here is the complete listing of all college baseball games for the state of Alabama from Friday, Feb. 21 through Thursday, Feb. 27. Games are subject to change due to weather.

Alabama Division I College Baseball Update

A new feature this season will be a weekly update on small college baseball (Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA) in the state of Alabama. In the latest edition of the Alabama College Baseball Update, here is a recap of the opening weekend of the NCAA Division I baseball season. Here is a look at this week’s Alabama Division I college baseball news and notes.

Alabama freshman Owen Diodati is the Bats and Blog Player of the Week, while Troy junior RHP Levi Thomas was named the Bats and Blogs Pitcher of the Week after the opening weekend of the season. (Diodati photo by Rick Pendley; @alagrandslammer)

Diodati led the Crimson Tide with three multi-hit games in a three-game sweep of Northeastern. Five of his six hits went for extra bases, and he contributed multi-RBI efforts in each game of the weekend. Diodati homered twice on Opening Day and finished the weekend with three home runs, a double, triple and eight RBIs. He was the first Alabama player to hit two Opening Day home runs since Dustan Mohr belted two against Michigan in 1997.

Thomas posted a career-high 14 strikeouts in just 5 innings of work during an 18-6 win over Northern Kentucky. He opened the night with seven consecutive strikeouts, the most since Shane McCann fanned six straight against Louisiana in 2011. For his efforts he was named the Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Unveils Preseason All-American Team

The 2020 Collegiate Baseball Pre-Season All-Americans, powered by Diamond Sports, feature a remarkable mix of talented NCAA Division I baseball players across the USA.

The Southeastern Conference was well represented on the 2020 preseason All-American squad with 15 total selections.

The SEC had five First-Team All-America selections, including three from Vanderbilt, the most of any school. Kumar Rocker (RHP), Mason Hickman (RHP) and Austin Martin (SS) all made the team for the Commodores. Texas A&M LHP Asa Lacy and Arkansas OF Heston Kjerstad also earned first-team accolades.

NCAA Division I Automatic Qualifiers

Here is the list of the 2019 NCAA Division I automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament. The remaining at-large teams, top-16 national seeds, first-round regional pairings and site assignments will be announced at noon (ET), Monday, May 27. The one-hour program will be shown live on ESPNU. The committee will set the entire 64-team bracket through both the super regionals and the first round of the College World Series and will not reseed the field after play begins.

College Baseball Notebook (May 26)

There were 11 NCAA Tournament tickets punched on Saturday … Another 13 tickets will be punched on Sunday … Arizona closed the regular-season with a three-game sweep at Washington State. The Wildcats won their 10th straight game with a 15-7 win on Saturday … Central Michigan captured the MAC Tournament championship with a 6-0 win over Ball State … The Chippewas have won 18 straight games, the longest active streak in Division I baseball … Coastal Carolina scored 36 runs in a pair of wins over UL Monroe (W 26-10, W 10-6) to advance to Sun Belt championship game against Georgia Southern … Creighton won its first ever Big East Tournament championship with a 9-8 win over No. 2 seed Xavier … Indiana State won its first Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship since 1995 with a pair of wins over Dallas Baptist … Jacksonville State won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship with a 10-3 win over Morehead State. The Gamecocks enter the NCAA Tournament with a 12-game winning streak … Loyola Marymount won the West Coast Conference Tournament with a 4-2, 10-inning win over St. Mary’s … LMU advances to NCAA Regionals for first time since 2000 … McNeese State won the Southland Conference Tournament with a 4-1 win over Central Arkansas. The Cowboys are headed to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2003 … Omaha won its first-ever Summit League Tournament championship with a 4-0 win over Oral Roberts … UC Irvine shortstop Christian Koss went 6-for-6 with six runs scored, one double, one home run and two RBIs in the 22-7 win over UC Riverside.

College Baseball Notebook (May 24)

A number of NCAA Tournament bids on the line as 14 different conferences could decide their tournament champion on Saturday … Arizona continued its late-season push for an NCAA Tournament bid with its ninth straight win at Washington State … Cal Poly designated hitter Conagher Sands had a double, home run and three RBIs in the Mustangs posted a 4-3 series-clinching win over UC Santa Barbara … Cal Poly wins the Big West title with a win over UCSB on Saturday … Central Michigan won its 18^th straight game to reach the MAC Championship game … Coastal Carolina Zach Biermann and Kyle Skeels combined for  five home runs and 9 RBIs in the Chanticleers 14-13 win over UT Arlington in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament …. Zach Biermann hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning … Creighton hit a Big East Tournament record six home runs in its 17-13 win over St. John’s … Georgia Tech redshirt junior utility man Tristan English fired two no-hit innings and delivered a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Yellow Jackets to a 5-4 win over Duke at the ACC Tournament … Jacksonville State extended its winning streak to 11 games with an 8-4 win over Austin Peay in the OVC Tournament … Ohio outlasted Miami-Ohio 6-5 in 17 innings at the MAC Tournament … Stetson scored five runs in the top of the 16th inning to outlast Jacksonville 6-1 in the winners bracket final at the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament … Wichita State first baseman Mason O’Brien  smacked two home runs and drove in six runs as the Shockers eliminated top seed East Carolina from the American Athletic Conference Tournament with a 13-5 win.

Here is Friday’s college baseball notebook:

College Baseball Notebook (May 23)

UCLA wrapped up the Pac 12 Championship with a 4-2 win at Oregon … Michael Toglia stroked the game-winning two-run homer in the eighth inning … Arizona extended its winning streak to eight games with a 21-4 win at Washington State … The Wildcats are making a late-season push to get into the NCAA Tournament … Cal Poly got a combined 2-hit shutout in its 3-0 win over UC Santa Barbara in the Big West series opener … The loss snapped UCSB’s 13-game winning streak … Central Michigan extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 16 games with an 18-9 win over Ohio in the Mid-American Conference Tournament … Clemson left hander Mat Clark retired the first 22 batters he faced and took a no-hitter into the ninth inning in a 7-1 win over Louisville at the ACC Tournament … Florida Gulf Coast, the regular-season champion, went two-and-out at the Atlantic Sun Tournament … Jacksonville State extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 6-5 walk-off win over Belmont at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament … Samford redshirt junior outfielder Jordan Fucci hit for the cycle in an 11-0 win over Mercer in the Southern Conference Tournament … TCU had a record-setting third inning in its 15-3 win over Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament … The Horned Frogs set tournament records with 14 runs, 11 hits, 14 RBIs and three home runs in the third inning.

Here is Thursday’s college baseball notebook: