The tumble continues for LSU baseball.
After a dozen weeks as the unanimous top-ranked team in college baseball, the Tigers have stumbled with back-to-back SEC series losses to then unranked teams in Auburn and Mississippi State.
Last week LSU dropped to No. 2 with Wake Forest climbing to the top line, and that fall continued after dropping the final two games against the Bulldogs at Alex Box Stadium, which included blowing a 13-4 lead in the final four innings before losing in extras.
LSU fell to No. 5 in D1 Baseball and Collegiate Baseball, and dropped to No. 4 in the USA Today coaches poll.
Here's how the top five breaks down in each:
COACHES POLL
- 1. Wake Forest (42-8)
- T2. Florida (40-12)
- T2. Arkansas (38-13)
- 4. LSU (39-12)
- 5. Stanford (34-14)
D1 BASEBALL
- 1. Wake Forest
- 2. Arkansas
- 3. Stanford
- 4. Florida
- 5. LSU
COLLEGIATE BASEBALL
- 1. Wake Forest
- 2. Arkansas
- 3. Stanford
- 4. Florida
- 5. LSU
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It was no surprise to see the Tigers stumble this week, and in the grand scheme it likely won't cost LSU a national seed (the top 8 in the NCAA would host a Super Regional if they advance that far). It does, however, show the reality of a dominant team that hasn't been playing dominant baseball down the stretch of the season. The Tigers have one more SEC series remaining (at Georgia), before a date in the SEC Tournament.
The SEC is well represented in the rankings, as always, with Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky also represented.
LSU will be aiming to get back on track heading into the NCAA Regionals (which they'll almost certainly host) and beyond for a team that has strongly merited College World Series ambitions in Year 2 of the Jay Johnson era.