Feb. 27, 2012

STANFORD, Calif.-- Stanford Baseball, which has won its first seven-straight to begin the season, is ranked No. 1 in the USA Today / Coaches Poll.

The Cardinal hosts UC Davis on Tuesday in an affair at 5:30 p.m. at Sunken Diamond following a sweep of No. 7 Texas this past weekend and No. 10 Vanderbilt to open the season. Stanford hit .364 last weekend in the team's first ever three-game sweep of the Longhorns. The sweep included a 13-run fourth inning on Sunday, in which the Cardinal batted around twice.

This is the first No. 1 ranking for the Cardinal since 2004. It was also ranked No. 1 during the regular season eight other times since 1986,  including: 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1991, and 1990. Following national championships in 1987 and 1988, Mark Marquess-led clubs were also ranked No. 1. It total, Stanford has been ranked No. 1 in 12 of the last 26 years since 1986.

Stanford remained at No. 2 in Baseball America and No. 3 in Collegiate Baseball's national polls which each have Florida at No. 1 and South Carolina at No. 3 and No. 2, respectively.

In USA Today's poll, Stanford with all 16 of the first place votes, leads Florida, South Carolina, Rice and Texas A&M. Rice comes to town in the second week of March for a three-game series.

USA Today Coaches Poll