The aftermath of the Louisville sweep: A look at Notre Dame baseball in the latest polls
Less than a week after taking the top spot in the Baseball America Top 25 poll, Notre Dame (12-4, 2-3 ACC) lost three consecutive games at Louisville (16-5, 3-0 ACC). Rough debut at No. 1 for the first time since 2001.
How does a sweep impact Notre Dame’s rankings in college baseball’s four biggest polls? Here’s a look.
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Baseball America: No. 11
The Irish tumbled 10 spots all the way down to 11th in this week’s Baseball America poll. Unsurprisingly, it was the largest fall in the top 25, with Stanford coming in just behind. The Cardinal are now No. 18 after spending last week at No. 10. They were swept at Arizona last weekend. Louisville, who was previously unranked in this poll, is now No. 15.
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper: No. 19
The Irish dropped all the way from No. 7 to No. 19 here. Louisville is actually ranked ahead of Notre Dame now in this poll, sitting at No. 15.
D1 Baseball: No. 12
Notre Dame fell down to the 12th spot from No. 6 after last weekend. They were the only team to fall out of the top 10, and it’s the first time they find themselves outside of the top 10 since late February.
Perfect Game: No. 9
Perfect Game kept the Irish in its top 10, the only of the four polls to do so. Not only is Notre Dame the highest ranked here than in any other poll, Perfect Game has a total of nine ACC teams ranked.
In addition to the four top polls, the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) has Notre Dame sitting at No. 8. This is most important for postseason seeding purposes. They were seventh last week. The only current RPI top 50 team Notre Dame has played is Louisville. Obviously, they lost all three matchups.
A look ahead
The Irish host Northwestern (6-10) on Wednesday night for a mid-week contest, one which was moved from Tuesday due to weather. Thunderstorms are in the forecast against on Wednesday. The Wildcats are riding a four-game win streak after starting 2-10.
Notre Dame’s next ACC opponent, Virginia Tech, arrives in South Bend for a three-game series on Friday. The Hokies (13-6, 2-4 ACC) are currently unranked and winless on the road.
Florida State (13-6, 4-2 ACC) is Notre Dame’s next ranked opponent. The Irish go to Tallahassee on April 1 for a three-game series. The Seminoles latest rankings from the four major polls are as follows: No. 8 by Baseball America, No. 22 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, No. 7 by D1 Baseball and No. 10 by Perfect Game.
