Just three days into the college baseball season, we’ve seen countless upsets and multiple mid-major teams playing incredibly well against strong opponents.
What makes college baseball so great is the constant upsets around the country, and it didn’t take long for that to happen in the 2022 season.
Long Beach State wins series over reigning National Champions
While it already is incredibly difficult to travel to Starkville to win a series when Mississippi State is ranked in the top five, it only becomes more difficult when they’re the reigning National Champions opening up the season at home.
That is unless you’re the Long Beach State Dirtbags.
On opening day, Luis Ramirez dominated Mississippi State, striking out five over six scoreless innings. He induced 11 groundouts during the 18 outs he recorded. Ramirez’s unbelievable outing paved the way for Matt Field and Harrison Devereaux to shut the door, combining for a one-hit shutout of the Bulldogs in a 3-0 victory.
After a pitchers duel on Friday, LBSU got out to an early 8-3 lead on Mississippi State before finishing the game with a double digit advantage, winning 13-3. Jonathon Long was unbelievable, as he went 4-for-4 with a home run on Saturday afternoon; Long went 6-for-11 with two home runs on the weekend.
Although LBSU couldn’t complete the sweep, as Mississippi State secured their first victory of the season on Sunday, they jumped into the top 10 of College Baseball Nation’s Week 1 rankings, finishing the weekend as the No. 8 team in the country.
Liberty wins final two in Gainesville
After finishing the 2021 season with 41 wins, Liberty continued their success during the opening weekend in 2022 with a series victory at Florida. Liberty fell in game one, 7-2, but was able to take the series with a 6-4 Saturday victory and a 5-3 victory on Sunday.
Liberty’s bullpen kept them in both of their victories. In 11.1 innings between Saturday and Sunday’s games, the Liberty bullpen didn’t allow a run. Having the ability to pitch multiple pitchers and be as dominant as they were is incredibly encouraging for Scott Jackson.
Gray Betts had a .364 average and Derek Orndorff went 3-for-9 with a home run this weekend.
Liberty is now ranked No. 19 in the College Baseball Nation Week 1 Top 50.
San Diego dominates Oregon at home
Oregon was ranked No. 13 coming into the 2022 season by College Baseball Nation; San Diego didn’t appear in the top 50.
That quickly changed.
San Diego dominated Oregon this weekend, as they took the first three games of a four-game series against the Ducks, securing 11-1, 10-4 and 5-4 victories.
While the first two games of the series were blowouts, Sunday wasn’t. Oregon was able to tie the game at four in the 8th inning. But, that didn’t last long as San Diego quickly regained the lead with an Ariel Armas bases-loaded walk. Oregon ran out of pitching at the end of the weekend.
Jack Costello was unbelievable this weekend for San Diego, as he went 7-for-12 and had four RBIs. Dustin Allen had a .400 average with a double and a triple over the first three games.
Oregon and San Diego will meet up in a fourth game of the series Monday at 3 p.m. (EST).
Bryant sweeps East Carolina on the road
East Carolina entered the season ranked No. 12 in College Baseball Nation’s Top 50. But, in Greenville, North Carolina this past weekend, it appeared Bryant was the nationally ranked ballclub.
On Opening Day, from the second inning on it was all Bryant, as they routed East Carolina on the road 10-2. Saturday, Bryant was down 3-1 but tied it in the eighth inning, eventually sending it to extras and closing with a 5-4 victory. Sunday, it was more magic, as pinch-runner Matt Smith scored on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth to give Bryant a 4-3 lead and the eventual sweep.
The pitching was fantastic for Bryant. Starters Collin Lowe, Jared Burrows, and Logan Frasier combined for two earned runs over 14 innings pitched. Offensively, Logan Allen hit .500 this weekend, knocking in three RBI’s and Derek Smith hit .455 and hit two doubles. Alex Lane hit Bryant’s lone home run of the weekend.
Bryant is No. 49 in College Baseball Nation’s Top 50 after their sweep of East Carolina.
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