As the season has progressed, we’ve seen several mid-major teams solidify themselves as competitors.
While upsets continue to come each day, here are three teams that separated themselves from the pack this past weekend.
Northeastern Sweeps NC State on the Road
The talk of college baseball through the first three week’s has included NC State’s Tommy “Tanks” White. Not only did Northeastern not allow them to take him deep, they held him to just one hit.
It was a dominating weekend for the Huskies, winning 6-1, 8-5, and 6-0. They held the Wolfpack’s elite offense to six runs the entire weekend.
It was a big weekend for freshman Mike Sirota, who has already cemented himself in the middle of the lineup for Northeastern as a freshman. In Friday’s victory, he had a three-hit day with two doubles and three RBI’s. The freshman has a .435 batting average and 10 RBI’s through the first 11 games.
The pitching is what was most notable for Northeastern. Wyatt Scotti, the Huskies Sunday starter, was dominant in seven shutout innings. He allowed just five hits and struck out three.
It wasn’t the most ideal start for Northeastern to begin the season, losing games to LIU and Monmouth in the opening weekend and getting swept in a doubleheader against Marshall a week ago. But, momentum is real in college baseball, and Northeastern has that now after a sweep of the No. 13 team in the country.
Northeastern, a three seed in the Fayetteville Regional a year ago, lost two close games — 8-6 to Nebraska and 3-2 to NJIT — in the tournament. The Huskies look to be vying for another tournament berth this season; the sweep of the Wolfpack boosts their resume immediately.
Tulane Wins 2 of 3 Against Mississippi State
The most underrated team in the country through the first three weeks of the season might be the Tulane Green Wave.
Tulane is off to a 10-2 start to the season and have won each of their last two series against top 25 teams: at Louisiana Tech and home vs Mississippi State.
After a tough first loss at Louisiana Tech a week ago, Tulane bounced back in a big way to win the final two games of the series. It was deja vu for the Green Wave this weekend; after a 19-2 Friday loss, Tulane had an epic 11-10 victory on Saturday and capped the weekend with a 5-4 come-from-behind victory.
Saturday, Tulane scored nine unanswered runs as Ethan Groff hit a walkoff homer in the 10th inning in what was the biggest highlight of his dominant weekend. Groff went 6-for-9 at the plate, hitting two homers and two doubles. Groff has dominated the early season; through the first 12 games he has posted a .475 batting average.
Tulane missed the NCAA Tournament last season after falling in the AAC Semifinals, but in the early season they have looked like they will return to the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Gonzaga Wins Two Close Games at Oklahoma State
Gonzaga was tabbed as a sleeper by many in the preseason and they’re proving those people right early on. After sweeping Cal State Fullerton a week ago, Gonzaga has won each of the first two games of their series at Oklahoma State (the third game of the series will be played Monday at 3 p.m.)
The pitching has been the story for the Zags, as it was Gabriel Hughes’ effort on Friday night that lifted the Bulldogs over OSU, 4-3. Hughes pitched three innings, allowing only three runs on three hits as he struck out 11. Saturday, William Kempner struck out five over 6.1 innings, and Brody Jessee came up big out of the bullpen, striking out seven in 3.2.
Although the Bulldogs were only held to three hits on Saturday, that was all they needed. Two of those three hits were homers, as Stephen Lund hit one in the first and Cade McGee hit one in the 10th inning.
Oklahoma State has already shown this season they can dominate on the hill, with a prime example being their series win over Vanderbilt, but they were outmatched on the mound this weekend.
Gonzaga sits at 8-2 this season, as those two losses came in the opening weekend of the season to Oregon State.
The Zags were 34-19 a year ago and won a game in the Eugene Regional but may be a sleeper pick to win their first ever regional this upcoming June.
There are 17 mid-major teams ranked in this week's top 50.
Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!