College Baseball is coming up on its fourth weekend! Here are the series that you need to keep an eye on.
ACC play starts with a bang as Florida State travels to Duke. The Seminoles are coming off of a 2-2 weekend where they lost two games to #2 Texas Tech and won two games against FAU. A win in this series would a good start for Florida State in what should be an incredibly competitive ACC Atlantic race. Duke will need to hold down home field if they want to compete with #9 Miami in the Coastal Division. Friday night will feature two stellar arms in CJ Van Eyk for Florida State and Bryce Jarvis (who threw a Perfect Game a couple of weekends ago) for Duke.
John's (@johnny_omaha_) Prediction: Duke wins two out of three
Kyle’s (@kylemckelv) Prediction: Duke wins two out of three
Featuring #3 UCLA, #6 Vanderbilt, #18 TCU, and USC, the Southern California College Baseball Classic promises to offer lots of high quality baseball. Vanderbilt stumbled on their last trip west to a tournament (1-2 in the MLB4 Tournament) but has recovered to win ten of their next eleven games since. UCLA just dominated the competition at the Frisco College Classic, and TCU has quietly mowed down its competition all season. USC, improved from a year ago, is off to a 7-4 start and will not be an easy out for any team. Look for dominant pitching in this tournament which has the talent of an Omaha bracket.
John's Prediction: UCLA 2-1, TCU 2-1, Vanderbilt 2-1, USC 0-3
Kyle’s Prediction: UCLA 3-0, Vanderbilt 2-1, TCU 1-2, USC 0-3
South Alabama at #10 Arkansas
With ace, Connor Noland, sitting out this weekend and a four-game losing streak hanging over their heads, Arkansas is not in the position they hoped they would be at this point in the season. South Alabama is a talented enough team that they could take advantage of Arkansas's weakness. However, averaging just 4.1 runs per game, South Alabama's offense may still not be able to test the Hog's depleted pitching staff. If the bats show up for Arkansas, they will likely win this series, but if not, South Alabama will challenge the Razorbacks. Even while on their four-game losing streak, Arkansas has averaged 4.8 runs per game which may be enough to take down South Alabama.
John's Prediction: Arkansas wins two of three
Kyle’s Prediction: Arkansas wins two of three
#19 Michigan at Pepperdine
Michigan continues its West Coast trip with a visit to Pepperdine, a team just outside of College Baseball Nation's Top 25. Michigan has yet to play a home game but has managed to rack up some impressive wins against Vanderbilt and Arizona State. Pepperdine has a host of respectable wins themselves, including over San Diego and Minnesota. This series is much more important for the Waves as it will be one of their last opportunities to get a substantial RPI boost.
John's Prediction: Pepperdine wins two of three
Kyle’s Prediction: Pepperdine wins two of three
#7 Louisville at Wake Forest
Winners of eight straight games, Louisville will travel to Wake Forest to kick off ACC play. The Cardinals have not seriously challenged themselves since losing two out of three games at Ole Miss on Opening Weekend and will get a sharp increase in competition this weekend. Outside of a bad trip to Long Beach State (where they were swept), Wake Forest has played well and looks to have taken a step forward from last year when they just missed a Regional. A series win would be a huge resume builder for Wake Forest. For Louisville, the expectation is to win most (if not all) ACC series. With trips to North Carolina, Miami, and Florida State all looming on the schedule, the Cardinals want to get out of Winston-Salem with a series win.
John's Prediction: Louisville wins two of three
Kyle’s Prediction: Louisville wins two of three
Other Series Predictions
#15 NC State at Virginia
John's Prediction: NC State wins two of three. NC State just scored 24 runs (in a 7-inning game) in the midweek versus Coastal Carolina, so the bats are coming in hot!
Kyle’s Prediction: NC State sweeps
San Diego State at #17 Oklahoma
John's Prediction: Oklahoma wins two of three
Kyle’s Prediction: Oklahoma sweeps
Fresno State at #20 Arizona State
John's Prediction: Arizona State sweeps. The bats are heating up in Tempe!
Kyle’s Prediction: Arizona State sweeps
Memphis at UNCW
John's Prediction: UNCW wins two of three. Both of these team may win a game in a Regional, though.
Kyle’s Prediction: UNCW wins two of three
San Diego at Indiana
John's Prediction: Indiana wins two of three
Kyle’s Prediction: Indiana wins two of three
West Virginia at Mercer
John's Prediction: Mercer wins two of three
Kyle’s Prediction: Mercer wins two of three
#25 UCSB at Oregon State
John's Prediction: UCSB wins two of three in an under-the-radar, really good series.
Kyle’s Prediction: UCSB wins two of three
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