LUBBOCK, TX - Big XII conference action got into full swing this weekend and one of the premiere matchups around the country featured the Texas Longhorns traveling north to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock. Entering the weekend Tech had not lost a game at home this season. Texas ace Pete Hansen was opposed by Andrew Morris to open the weekend on Friday night. Morris lasted through the sixth inning, allowing just a run, while Hansen took his exit after seven innings having allowed three runs. Neither would be a factor in the end of this one. When the Red Raiders came to bat in the bottom of the eighth, they trailed 4-3. All seven runs had come from seven solo home runs; Easton Murrell, Jace Jung, and Hudson White for Texas Tech; Eric Kennedy, Ivan Melendez, Trey Faltine, and Skyler Messinger for Texas. Tech tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a routine sacrifice fly. Neither team produced in the ninth, so the game went to extra innings. After a scoreless top half of the tenth, two Texas Tech batters were walked to lead off the inning. Two outs later, with runners on second and third, Tech shortstop Kurt Wilson broke into a sprint from third base and stole home without a throw to give Texas Tech the most unusual of walk off wins, 5-4. Texas got out to a quick 2-0 lead in Saturday's first inning. Tech immediately responded with seven runs, chasing Longhorn ace Tristan Stevens from the game before he recorded an out. The score remained 7-2 into the fifth inning when Texas started to chip away at the five-run deficit with a two-run frame. Texas then tied the game with a three-run inning in the seventh. Both teams scored four runs in the eighth inning to knot the game at eleven. After a scoreless ninth for both teams, the Longhorns grabbed a one run lead in the top of the tenth on a double by Douglas Hodo III. The Red Raiders tied the game in the tenth on a fielder's choice before a walk to Jung loaded the bases and forced a Texas pitching change. A fielder’s choice led to an out at home plate for the second out of the inning and the bases were still loaded. Wilson, the hero of Friday night, launched a 1-0 pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam walk off. The 16-12 victory gave the Red Raiders clinched the series for Tech. For Texas, which pounded out twenty-one hits in the game, Melendez and Stehly practically mirrored each other in the game. Both were 5-for-5, both homered twice, and while Melendez had three RBI, Stehly had four RBI. Melendez has hit thirteen home runs this season, one of the tops in the country. Because of the early exit from Stevens, Texas had to go to the bullpen early and often, they used a total of eight pitchers in the contest. The high-scoring affair also caused Tech to utilize their bullpen, though a little less often; they used six pitchers in the middle game. Sunday’s game never felt the drama that Friday and Saturday provided. A sacrifice fly RBI off the bat of Jung was the only Texas Tech run in the series finale, it came in the third inning to tie the game at one. Still tied in the fifth, Messinger and Mitchell Daly hit back-to-back solo home runs and the Longhorns added two more runs in the sixth to start to create some separation with a 5-1 lead. The Longhorns were a long way from finished though, as they scored seven runs in the seventh, highlighted by a three-run blast from Faltine. Leading 12-1 at the conclusion of the seventh inning, the game ended because of the Big XII conference run rule for Sunday games. Lucas Gordon got the win to improve his record to 2-1 and Texas head coach David Pierce spoke about Gordon before any offensive players after the game, “Lucas did a great job of just pitching to both sides of the plate and using his changeup when he needed it,” Pierce said. Gordon has taken over the Sunday duties that belonged to Tanner Witt who is out after having season-ending Tommy John surgery. “I just can’t say enough about the kid stepping into that role,” Pierce said. The Longhorns out-hit the Red Raiders 17-6 on Sunday in the seven-inning game that also ended the Red Raiders’ perfect home record to start the year. The weekend series in Lubbock offered everything; a blowout, a one-run game, a walk-off home run, a walk-off steal of home, solo home runs galore, a grand slam, solid pitching in spots, spectacular defensive plays, especially in the outfield, and a 2-1 series win for the home team while the road team salvages one before heading back home. The Big XII conference championship will be ultimately settled in Arlington, Texas in late May. Texas Tech showed a formula that can translate into challenging the Longhorns, but it will take pitching and timely hitting—not a big secret. The duo in the middle of the Texas lineup of Melendez and Stehly is as formidable a 1-2 punch as there is in the country, much less the conference, but as Saturday laid bare, the damage they can do means little if the bullpen does not record outs. Teams cannot count on chasing Stevens out of many games in the first inning, when he is on his game, he is a top starter in the country. And with Hansen and what looks to be a solid Gordon, that trio will be tough to overcome. This weekend proved that it may all come down to bullpen arms and which team can actually record outs after the starting pitchers leave the game. A conference championship may hang in the balance for the team that accomplishes the feat. Thanks for stopping by! 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For the past week, the St. Peter’s University Peacocks men’s basketball team has won the hearts of so many during March Madness. Their magical run included victories over No. 2 seeded Kentucky and No. 3 seeded Purdue. In college baseball, there already seems to be countless teams who could do the same when Omaha rolls around this summer. Florida Gulf Coast Each year Florida Gulf Coast is incredibly competitive in the Atlantic Sun, and a strong non-conference schedule this season may only help them in conference play. So far, through the first two weekends of the conference season, FGCU went on the road to sweep Stetson and won two-out-of-three at home against Jacksonville. Head coach Dave Tollett has been down this road before, but he put together an incredibly competitive schedule in the early season. FGCU split a four-game series with Cincinnati, won weekend series over Bethune-Cookman, Seton Hall, and Fairfield, and already has played Florida State and South Florida in the mid-week. Junior Alejandro Figueredo has been unbelievable so far this season for the Eagles, as he sports a .412 batting average through the first 24 games of the season for FGCU. For the Eagles, Ian Farrow who has provided the power. He has nine home runs while sporting a .392 batting average. It seems like this happens every year with FGCU, but the team has a .323 batting average and seven of their starters have batting averages over .311. Jason Woodward has been fantastic as the Friday night starter for the Eagles, as he owns a 1.93 ERA through his first six starts. All three of FGCU’s weekend starters have ERA’s under 2.81 so far this season. FGCU’s mid-week still features three more contests against Miami, so for the team that was projected to finish second in the Atlantic Sun, they need to continue their strong start. No. 50 College of Charleston So far this season, the College of Charleston has been a fascinating team to watch. After starting the season 7-1, with the one loss being a one-run loss at Clemson, the Cougars lost five straight between High Point and Penn. Since then, Charleston has won three straight series, including home series against East Carolina and Northeastern, while beating No. 10 Texas in a mid-week game. It was big for Charleston to get started on the right foot when it came to CAA play, and that’s exactly what they did with their sweep over Northeastern. JT Marr and Trotter Harlan have been two dominant forces in the lineup for Charleston, as they both have batting averages over .325 and OPS’s over .990. Preston Hall brings power to the lineup, as he already has six home runs on the season. As a team, the Cougars are hitting .280 collectively. This past weekend, they had at least seven runs in all three games, including a 14-run performance on Saturday. While their approaches at the plate have been fantastic, their pitching has served well too, especially their bullpen. Charleston’s top arms out of the bullpen have been William Privette (0.74 ERA in 25.2 innings) and Reed Parris (1.53 ERA in 17.2 innings). Heading into the 2022 season, Charleston was projected to finish third in the CAA behind Northeastern and UNCW. The Cougars are already 3-0 against Northeastern, but don’t play UNCW until the beginning of May. No. 29 Southern Miss It’s been an interesting season so far for Southern Miss. After beginning the season ranked No. 20, the Golden Eagles have started 17-7. Since getting swept by Dallas Baptist, the Golden Eagles have turned it around for the time being. They immediately came back home and took a mid-week game over Alabama and have started conference play off 5-1 with a sweep of Western Kentucky and winning two-out-of-three against Florida Atlantic. But, Southern Miss has a big five day stretch ahead of them that may determine what the rest of their season will look like. First, this upcoming weekend they will host Louisiana Tech. If you’re a college baseball fan, you will remember the late-night epic battles between these two teams last year in the Conference-USA Tournament. Two teams that are incredibly talented, Southern Miss enters this series looking for revenge from their heartbreaking defeats last season. Louisiana Tech is just one spot behind Southern Miss in the College Baseball Nation Top 50 at No. 30. Just two days after that series concludes, Southern Miss and No. 11 Ole Miss will meet in Pearl, Mississippi for their annual game at Trustmark Park. It’s a big weekend for Southern Miss, and they’ll need to continue their momentum from this past weekend to roll with that. That will start with Slade Wilks. Wilks has five homers in Southern Miss’ last four games. The sophomore is hitting .341 so far this season after struggling mightily a season ago when he hit .158. The pitching for the Golden Eagles has been fantastic all-around, as they will need to continue that with two high-powered offenses coming up this week for them. A big week for Southern Miss begins on Friday. There are 16 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!

Tennessee rises to the to top of the College Baseball Nation Top 50 for the first time in school history after sweeping Ole Miss in Oxford over the weekend. The Volunteers outscored the Rebels 26-7 in the series. Arkansas fell one spot to No. 2 but had a successful weekend of their own, taking two out of three games at Missouri. Florida State rises to No. 3. The Seminoles won a series against Duke. Miami moves up to No. 4 after sweeping North Carolina. The series was capped by a 14-inning affair on Sunday which the Hurricanes won 3-2. Texas Tech, fresh off a series win against Texas, rounds out the top five. No. 6 Virginia moved to 22-2 after a series win at Wake Forest. No. 7 Oregon State also earned a road series win; theirs was against California. Oklahoma State, Louisville, and Texas finish the top ten. Six teams enter the top 50 this week including No. 43 Kentucky, No. 45 Auburn, No. 47 USF, No. 48 Oklahoma, No. 49 Iowa, and No. 50 Charleston. The SEC leads all conference with 11 ranked teams followed by the ACC (10) and the Pac-12 and Big 12 (5). Teams from 15 different conferences are represented in the top 50. See the full top 50 below: 1 Tennessee 2 Arkansas 3 Florida State 4 Miami 5 Texas Tech 6 Virginia 7 Oregon State 8 Oklahoma State 9 Louisville 10 Texas 11 Ole Miss 12 Vanderbilt 13 Texas State 14 Gonzaga 15 Florida 16 UNC 17 UCLA 18 Arizona 19 Stanford 20 Notre Dame 21 LSU 22 Oregon 23 DBU 24 TCU 25 Connecticut 26 NC State 27 Georgia Tech 28 Maryland 29 Southern Miss 30 Louisiana Tech 31 Clemson 32 South Carolina 33 Wake Forest 34 Georgia 35 Liberty 36 UCSB 37 Tulane 38 UC Irvine 39 Mississippi State 40 San Diego 41 Charlotte 42 LBSU 43 Kentucky 44 Purdue 45 Auburn 46 Penn 47 USF 48 Oklahoma 49 Iowa 50 Charleston Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

Texas State (18-3) Head Coach Steven Trout joins the podcast to talk about the Bobcats' hot start. John & Kyle break down all the action from Week 5 and look ahead to Week 6. Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Apple Podcasts Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Spotify. Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Google Podcasts Have a question for Kyle and John? Send a DM to us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or an email to podcast@collegebaseball.info and we might answer it on the podcast. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

With many teams looking evenly matched after week one of Pac-12 play, week two of conference play had much to prove in one direction or another: were the week one winners that good, were the losers that bad, and is there any middle ground in the conference? Arizona State at No. 8 Oregon State By the time the fourth inning ended on Friday night at Goss Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon State led 18-0 and Travis Bazzana had eight RBI on the way to a 21-0 shut out of Arizona State. Cooper Hjerpe improved to 5-0 on the season as he tossed one-hit ball over seven innings. Oregon State attacked almost every pitcher the Sun Devils send to the mound, scoring on four of the five arms. Saturday afternoon the Beavers fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first, but they answered right back with three runs and continued to add to their total the rest of the day. Perhaps out of frustration, perhaps trying to inspire his team, Sun Devils head coach Willie Bloomquist was ejected in the bottom of the first inning for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire. The ejection did not change the course of the game, Oregon State continued to cruise as they scored in five of the first six innings. Bazzana added a three-run home run to his weekend resume in the bottom of the eighth to push the lead to 12-2, which stood as the final score. Through the first two games, the Beavers had outscored the Sun Devils 33-2. Jacob Kmatz moved to 4-0 with the win for his 5 2/3 innings of work. For the second week in a row with a series sweep on the line, Oregon State could not close the deal. The Beavers led 1-0 going to the ninth before the Sun Devils plated three runs with the help on an infield single and a bases loaded walk after falling behind 0-2. A pop fly ball off the bat of Kai Murphy was caught in foul territory, allowing the third run of the inning to cross the plate. Tyler Meyer tossed seven innings for Arizona State, giving up just one run on four hits and striking out nine Oregon State batters in the 3-1 win. Oregon State, despite outscoring Arizona State 34-5 in the three games, settled for a 2-1 series win at home. No. 17 Stanford at No. 16 Arizona Alex Williams pitched well enough to win on Saturday night when Stanford traveled to Tucson to face Arizona in the only Saturday-Sunday-Monday scheduled matchup. The problem for Williams is that Arizona starter TJ Nichols pitched just a little better. Williams went seven innings allowing just an unearned run on three hits and striking out ten. Nichols pitched eight strong innings and allowed just two runs while striking out eight. Stanford led 2-0 in the seventh inning before the Wildcats finally scored a run. In the bottom of the eight, things fell apart for the Cardinal as sloppy defense allowed Arizona to eventually take a one run lead. In the top of the ninth, Stanford put runners at second and third with no outs. One out later, Austin Kretzschmar hit a ball into shallow center which would have been the tying run on a sacrifice fly ball, if not for center fielder Mac Bingham catching the ball and throwing home to catcher Daniel Susac who made a swipe tag for the final out of the 3-2 Arizona victory. In a relative repeat of Saturday’s opening game, both teams got great outings from their starting pitchers on Sunday. Quinn Mathews for Stanford went seven strong striking out eight and allowing just three earned runs. Garrett Irvin started for the Wildcats and went six strong allowing only two earned runs. The eighth inning once again came back to haunt Stanford as they took a 5-1 lead into the bottom half of the frame. Arizona took advantage of infield singles and walked batters, but a three-run home run from Chase Davis was the big blow for the Wildcats in the eighth as the eked out a 6-5 win. Davis returned on Monday night to single-handedly ruin Stanford and help the Wildcats complete the sweep in the process. Defensively, Davis made a diving catch in left-center to end the first inning and keep Stanford from taking an early lead. Trailing 3-1 in the sixth, Davis hit a two-run home run to tie the game. An inning later, Davis hit a grand slam and the Wildcats scored six runs in the inning to take a 9-3 lead. Drew Dowd started for the Cardinal and was good through six, giving up just three runs, but the bullpen was not up to the task. In the other dugout, Dawson Netz was good over six innings allowing just the three runs, while Quinn Flanagan was dominant over the final four innings allowing just one hit and striking out five in the 10-3 romp. Arizona got the sweep at home and after two one-run games, saved their offensive explosion for the final game and won in a blowout. Utah at No. 29 Oregon Utah took a 3-0 lead in the second inning on Friday night in Eugene. The Oregon offense went to work at that point, and they scored eleven runs between the second and the sixth innings. Brennan Milone, Anthony Hall, and Gavin Grant all hit two-run home runs as part of a balanced offensive attack for the Ducks. Utes batters only collected six hits on the night and the back-end of the Oregon bullpen was tremendous over the final 4 1/3 innings as it helped the Ducks to the 11-4 win. Saturday’s second game featured another late Oregon rally to break the Utes again. Milone and Tanner Smith both homered for the second day in a row. But Utah took a 6-3 advantage to the bottom of the eighth when Oregon rallied for five runs. Pinch-hitter Josiah Cromwick was hit by a pitch on a 0-2 count to load the bases for the Ducks as the Utes began to unravel. Smith singled home two runs as part of a 4 RBI night to tie the game and after a sacrifice fly gave Oregon the lead, Milone doubled to extend the Oregon lead to 8-6. The back end of the Oregon bullpen was solid for the second straight game, keeping Utah off the board late. By comparison, Oregon’s 7-2 win on Sunday to sweep the weekend series was a cake walk compared to the two previous come from behind victories. Utah scored one run in the third and fourth innings for their only real offense of the afternoon. Hall was 3-for-3 with a solo home run and an RBI single, and Smith’s only hit of the ballgame was a two-run home run. Once again, the Oregon bullpen was terrific; they handled the final 5 1/3 innings of the game and only allowed two hits to the Utes. Oregon earned the home sweep over Utah after no team swept in the first weekend of conference play. California at USC Jaden Agassi took the hill for the Trojans against Josh White for Cal on Friday at Dedeaux Field. A triple by Tyresse Turner in the bottom of the first inning got the Trojans out to a quick 2-0 lead on their way to a 5-0 lead in the opening inning. USC added a run in the second and led 6-0 behind Agassi. Despite falling behind by six runs, White hung in and ended up throwing seven complete innings without allowing more damage, sparing bullpen arms. Two runs for the Golden Bears in the sixth inning on a double by Cole Elvis was all the offense they could muster against USC pitching as Cal fell 6-2. USC sent Tyler Stromsborg to the mound to face Cal's Joseph King. King pitched 5 2/3 innings while Stromsborg pitched 6 innings. But neither starter factored in the final decision. Cal took a 5-1 lead to the bottom of the eighth, but USC tied the game at five going to the ninth. Dylan Beavers, who had tripled earlier in the game, hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth before the Golden Bears added two more runs to take a 9-5 lead. Cal’s bullpen closed out the game and the win evened up the series. Sunday’s rubber match was the lowest-scoring game of the weekend series. Left-hander Ian May, in just his first career start, delivered 5 2/3 innings of quality pitching. May’s one mistake cost him his only two runs on Sunday, on a two-run home run by Tyler Lozano in third inning put the Trojans in front 2-1. Elvis provided a two RBI single in the sixth and Cal’s bullpen once against closed out the Trojans as they held on for the 3-2 win. Cal went on the road against what appears to be a quality USC squad and after losing the first game, bounced back to take the final two games and the series 2-1. Washington State at Washington Washington State traveled across the state to Seattle to face Washington for the Apple Cup. Cam Clayton homered for the Huskies in the second inning before another run in the inning gave Washington a 2-1 lead which stood up until the sixth when they added another run. A solo home run by Kyle Russell got the Cougars within a run, but they fell 3-2 in the opener. Jared Engman earned the win for his 5 2/3 innings performance. On Saturday, Washington’s Calvin Kirchoff took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Nate Swarts homered with one on. Kirchoff exited after 6 2/3 innings having allowed two runs on two hits with Washington leading 8-2. The Huskies offense scored at least one run in each of the first six innings, mostly on run scoring singles, as they also pounded out thirteen hits in the game. Stu Flesland and Stefan Raeth finished the final 2 1/3 innings without allowing a hit, in the 8-2 Huskies win. For the second straight day, the Washington Huskies scored a run in at least six different innings to cruise to victory and sweep their cross-state rival. Washington State burned through eight pitchers in the Sunday contest, while Washington used just three. Washington’s steady offense continued to drive home runs with singles, but they did see some power swings from Johnny Tincher and Michael Snyder who both homered in the 14-3 rout. Washington swept Washington State in Seattle and outscored the Cougars 25-7, but also out-hit them 36-10 in the three games. Takeaways Oregon State has proven it can outscore anybody, but oddly enough, they have not done that on Sundays to this point. Their pitching has not fared well late on Sundays either. To compete long term, they need to fix at least one of those problems. For now, though, the Beavers continue to win each series and their high-ranking in most polls is well earned. USC’s opening conference series win against UCLA looks slightly less impressive given UCLA’s performance since last weekend and given Cal’s taking the series in Los Angeles by winning the final two games. Cal’s best pitcher got smacked around in only one inning on Friday, but White stayed on the mound and gave his team seven innings when many pitchers would fold. Arizona is potentially the wildest of wild cards in the Pac-12. Their offense can punish teams, or they can have days like Saturday when they produce three runs and they still win on the back of outstanding pitching. The hot and cold nature of the offense could run into problems if the right set of arms get in their way. Stanford is scuffling right now. There is no shame in going to Tucson and losing. There is some shame in throwing games away with careless defense and combining that with very little offense. The starting pitching is really good, most of the time, and that consistency needs to be developed in order to repeat a trip to Omaha. Washington looks to have some great pitching depth. It will be interesting to see what they can prove offensively when they face higher tier pitching in the coming weeks. UCLA did not play a conference series this weekend; the Bruins played host to Harvard. The Bruins won Friday’s opener 25-2 before being shut out 5-0 on Saturday. UCLA took the series with a 3-2 win in eleven innings on Sunday. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

In the first week that contained a full slate of ACC matchups, the conference did not disappoint with many teams putting up double digit run totals. Although it is still early in the season, it appears this could be the deepest the ACC has been in recent years. In the biggest surprise of the weekend, Louisville swept No. 12 Notre Dame to begin their 2022 ACC campaign. The Cardinals scored 31 runs against the Fighting Irish pitching staff that allowed just 29 runs in their first 13 games. After a slow start to begin the season, Louisville has quietly won 13 of their last 14, including a series win against Michigan and a midweek game against TCU. Notre Dame took care of business last weekend against North Carolina State but will need to regroup quickly, as Virginia Tech heads to South Bend next weekend. The Hokies just put up 32 runs against Pittsburgh. The most anticipated series of the weekend slate took place in Tallahassee, with No. 3 Florida State hosting No. 35 North Carolina State. After the first two games of the weekend, each team claimed a lopsided victory. The rubber match lived up to the hype, going late into the night hours, taking 17 innings to decide a winner. In the bottom half of the inning, the Seminoles DH, Jaime Ferrer, launched his third home run of the season in dramatic fashion, taking the game and series against the Wolfpack. Mike Martin Jr. has to feel good about his club, sitting at 4-2 in ACC play after series with Wake Forest and North Carolina State. In another shocker in the league this weekend, Wake Forest traveled to Atlanta and took care of business with Georgia Tech. The Demon Deacons are also flying under the radar with a 16-4 record and 3-3 record in conference play. After scoring 37 runs against the Yellow Jackets, Wake Forest now ranks fifth in the country with 207 runs. Though many were sleeping on Wake Forest heading into the season, the Deacons have made their presence known. This team is going to be the reason many pitching coaches around the league lose a lot of sleep. No. 15 Miami traveled to No. 24 Clemson in the only matchup of two top 25 ACC teams this weekend. Miami improved to 4-2 in the conference after winning both the Friday and Saturday contests, but the Tigers bats came alive on Sunday to avoid the sweep. The Hurricanes have plenty of new faces in the lineup this year, but Coach Gino DiMare seems to have his group rolling after two ACC series. Clemson on the other hand, has lost four of their last five games as they hope to get on track as they host Pittsburgh next weekend. No. 16 Virginia improved to 19-1 and 5-1 in the ACC after sweeping Boston College over the weekend. Talk about putting up runs in a hurry, the Cavaliers lead the country in runs scored with 236, which is nearly 12 runs a game. At this point of the season, Virginia looks primed to make yet another run to Omaha. Get your popcorn ready next weekend as the Cavaliers travel to Wake Forest in a matchup between two of the highest scoring offenses in the country. No. 27 North Carolina took care of business this weekend in the Tobacco Road rivalry, flexing their muscles in Durham against Duke. The Tar Heels are 5-1 in ACC play after series with Pittsburgh and Duke, but they will be tested this weekend, traveling to Coral Gables to take on a hot Miami team. North Carolina boasts the third best ERA in the country at 2.07 and a team batting average of .288. The Tar Heels have everything clicking right now, and we will soon find out how these numbers translate as competition increases. The theme of high octane offenses continued in Blacksburg this weekend as Virginia Tech took two games from Pittsburgh, scoring 32 runs. The Hokies rank 25th in the country with 164 runs and third nationally with 41 home runs, 10 of which came this weekend. Don’t look for their bats to slow down, but can the pitching keep pace to remain competitive in the ACC? Ten ACC teams are 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!

It was the first week of conference play in the SEC with every team trying to get off to a hot start in what is sure to be a grueling, but fun, 10 weeks of action. There aren’t many weekends in the SEC where you don’t have a couple of ranked matchups, and the first conference weekend featured No. 5 Tennessee versus No. 25 South Carolina. Almost all of the top teams in the conference asserted their dominance, but there was one big surprise on the weekend down in Baton Rouge, La. Aggies Pick Up Huge Series Win on the Road Over LSU Texas A&M looked like one of the worst teams in the SEC over the first four weeks of the season with just a 10-6 record and series loss to Penn. But the Aggies flipped the script in Baton Rouge, shocking the No. 6 LSU Tigers in what was the most entertaining series of the weekend. In each of the first two games LSU came back to tie it in the bottom of the 8th only to see Texas A&M score in the top of the 9th and win. On Sunday, LSU scored in the bottom of the 8th again – this time to break a tie – and were able to hold on and salvage a game on the weekend despite getting out-hit 17-11 in the game. Dylan Rock had a big weekend at the plate for the Aggies with 2 hits in each game with 4 runs scored, 3 RBI, and 2 home runs on the weekend. Georgia Takes Down the Champs in Conference Opener It was a rough week for the defending champs in Mississippi State as they found out they’re losing their ace and team leader, Landon Sims, for the rest of the season. Things didn’t get better over the weekend after they lost their series to Georgia and the pitching staff gave up 23 runs in the first two games. On Friday, the Bulldogs of Georgia, led by SEC Pitcher of the Year candidate Jonathan Cannon, shutout Mississippi State 11-0. Cannon tossed 8 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits with no walks with 9 strikeouts. Before the score got out of hand on Friday, Mississippi’s State Preston Johnson was really solid with 10 strikeouts over 6 innings while only allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits and a walk. After the shutout on Friday, Saturday was a highly entertaining game with some big swings that ended in a Georgia walk-off. Mississippi State finally got some revenge on Sunday with a huge 20-3 win. Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Arkansas Make Cases for No. 1 It’s becoming pretty apparent who the top teams in the SEC are right now between Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Arkansas, and they all made a case to be the No. 1 team in the nation with sweeps at their respective home stadiums to start conference play. The Commodores dispatched Missouri with scores of 15-2, 6-0, and 7-4. Leadoff man Enrique Bradfield Jr. had 7 hits over the weekend with 5 runs scored and 4 RBI. Shortstop Carter Young had 7 hits and scored 5 runs as well. The starting pitching was excellent for Vandy with Chris McElvain giving up just 1 earned run on 2 hits and a walk over 6 innings with 8 strikeouts on Friday. Carter Holton and Christian Little combined for a 3-hit shutout on Saturday with 14 strikeouts (Holton pitched 7 of those innings). Tennessee may have the best pitching staff in the country, and they proved that in a sweep over South Carolina in which they only allowed 5 runs on the weekend. Chase Burns is challenging for the SEC Freshman of the Year as he continues to impress each week. On Friday he went 6.2 innings giving up just 1 earned run on 2 hits and 2 walks with 9 strikeouts. Then Chase Dollander went out on Saturday and gave up just 1 earned run on 3 hits and a walk over 5 innings with 7 strikeouts. Drew Beam finished the weekend off tossing 7.2 shutout innings and giving up just 1 hit with no walks and 3 strikeouts. That’s a combined 2 earned runs in 19.1 innings for Tennessee starting pitching over the weekend. At the plate, Evan Russell had a big weekend with 4 hits, 3 runs, 6 RBI, and 3 home runs. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks only allowed 5 runs to Kentucky over the weekend in a sweep. Leading the Razorbacks’ offense, Robert Moore had 4 hits on the weekend, scored 3 runs, drove in 6, and hit a homer. Connor Noland, Hagen Smith, and Jaxon Wiggins all went at least 6 innings over the weekend with 22 combined strikeouts and just 4 earned runs allowed. Ole Miss Wins a Back-and-Forth Slugfest with Auburn It was a highly unusual back-and-forth series in Auburn where Ole Miss won the first game 13-6, Auburn took the second game 19-5, and then Ole Miss returned the beating on Saturday 15-2. Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez had 5 hits on the weekend, with 7 runs scored, 2 doubles, and 2 home runs. Tim Elko had 5 hits with 7 RBI and a home run. Auburn’s Blake Rambusch picked up 8 hits on the weekend to go along with 4 runs scored and 6 RBI. Florida Nearly Gets a Sweep on the Road Against Alabama It was looking like Florida was going to get a clean sweep in Tuscaloosa before the Crimson Tide battled back to walk it off on Sunday for the 8-7 win. But the Gators still managed to get the road series win. Hunter Barco continued his brilliant 2022 season going 8 innings on Friday and allowing just 1 earned run on 4 hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts. He has double-digit strikeouts in three-of-five starts this year and 44 strikeouts in 31.1 innings with a 1.72 ERA. Wyatt Langford had 7 hits on the weekend, including two 3-hits games, while scoring 7 runs, driving in 6, and hitting 3 home runs. For Alabama, Zane Denton had 4 hits and 4 RBI on the weekend, including the walk-off RBI single on Sunday. Game of the Weekend After blowing out Mississippi State on Friday night 11-0, Georgia had to work for the win on Saturday. Mississippi State took a 3-0 lead early but their lead was just 6-4 going into the bottom of the sixth before Georgia put up a six-spot to take a 10-6 lead. But the Bulldogs in maroon answered in the seventh with a four-spot to tie it at 10. Georgia scored a go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth just to watch Mississippi State tie it back up in the top of the 9th. Georgia loaded the bases in the bottom half with just one out setting up this Cole Tate walk-off: Ten SEC teams are 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!

Conference play has finally arrived! As teams have finished their non-conference weekend schedule, there are a few teams that have entered conference play red hot. Here are three teams that have been playing well as we head into the last week of March. No. 39 UC Irvine Out of the Big West, UC Irvine had a strong non-conference schedule to overcome, as they had series against Oregon State and Iowa while hosting Arizona State for two mid-week games. When facing those Power 5 opponents, the Anteaters went 5-3. The Anteaters have started the season off on the right foot behind solid pitching. Friday-night starter Nick Pinto has been somewhat up and down to start his season. Against Oregon State he allowed six runs in 4.2 innings but followed that up with six shutout innings with nine strikeouts against Iowa. This past weekend he struck out seven in six innings. Though UC Irvine’s offense has not lit up the stat sheet all year, the Anteaters have had multiple high-scoring victories in their last two series, winning games 10-7, 7-6, and 12-6. The offense is led by redshirt sophomore Nathan Church, who has dominated at the plate so far. Church is hitting .370 at the plate, posting a .481 slugging percentage during the process. UC Irvine, a team that fell in the Stanford Regional Final a season ago, was selected to finish second in the Big West this season behind Long Beach State. While LBSU had a red-hot start, they’ve cooled off tremendously, as they hold a 10-8 overall record. The Dirtbags are UC Irvine’s biggest competition for the champion of the Big West, but they won’t match up until April 29-31. No. 26 UConn It’s tougher to begin conference play in the Big East than it is in other conferences. Playing in the northeast is fun, but not in freezing-cold weather in March. While conference play doesn’t begin until April 8, UConn has separated themselves from the rest of the pack in the Big East during non-conference play. With wins over USC and Louisville, UConn has started the season 14-3 while playing away from home all year. Their offense has been what has catapulted them so far. The Huskies have five hitters who have a batting average over .308 through their first 17 games of the season. They’re led by Erik Stock, who has a .406 batting average in the 16 games he has played. The Huskies don’t hit many home runs, as they take care of business by getting on base an incredible amount; their team on-base percentage is .377 so far this season. UConn’s pitching has also been incredibly strong so far, especially their bullpen. UConn has six pitchers who have an ERA under two, with two of them being starters: Enzo Stefanoi (1.48 ERA) and Pat Gallagher (1.95 ERA). In last year’s South Bend Regional, UConn didn’t have the pitching to survive eventual College World Series participant Notre Dame. This year, it looks like a different story. No. 44 South Alabama After beginning the season 1-2, South Alabama has won 14 of their last 15 games as they enter Sun Belt Conference play red hot. The streak started with a midweek victory in Hattiesburg, Mississippi over Southern Miss. Since then, the Jaguars have been scorching hot outside of a rematch in Hattiesburg, when South Alabama fell by two. In their first three games in Sun Belt Conference play, South Alabama rolled over UT Arlington, winning each game by a minimum of seven runs. The offense has been unbelievable for South Alabama. Miles Simington’s .473 batting average is top 10 in the country, as South Alabama’s top four hitters all have batting averages over .329. Their power comes from Santi Montiel (five homers) and Charles Middleton Jr. (four homers), as the Jaguars offense has been electric to start the year. The Jaguars have averaged 7.4 runs per game in the 18 games they have played this season. Last season, South Alabama was one win away from a Super Regional. Now, they look even stronger through non-conference play. But, the real tests will begin for South Alabama this upcoming week. Tuesday, South Alabama will travel to Auburn before a three-game series at Louisiana-Lafayette. They will conclude a strong week of games with a Tuesday road game at Alabama. There are 18 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!

Throw last week's rankings out the window because here at College Baseball Nation, we performed a total re-rank of all the teams in the country. With conference play kicking off around the country, we decided to say "no" to poll inertia and let resumes speak for themselves. Arkansas remains at No. 1 after a 5-0 week, including a sweep of Kentucky. No. 2 Texas bounced back after a rough trip to South Carolina to sweep Incarnate Word. Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt round out the top five; each team started off SEC play with a series win. No. 6 Florida State earned a hard-fought weekend win against NC State in a series that saw 26 innings of baseball played on Sunday. Oklahoma State and Oregon State check in at Nos. 7 and 8 respectively, followed by No. 9 Florida and No. 10 Virginia. No. 14 Louisville shoots up the rankings after a series sweep of Notre Dame. Texas State at No. 15 is the highest ranked mid-major team. Wake Forest (25), San Diego (43), Troy (45), Penn (47), Texas A&M (48), and Portland (49) all enter the top 50 this week. The full top 50 can be found below. 1 Arkansas 2 Texas 3 Tennessee 4 Ole Miss 5 Vanderbilt 6 Florida State 7 Oklahoma State 8 Oregon State 9 Florida 10 Virginia 11 Miami 12 Texas Tech 13 UNC 14 Louisville 15 Texas State 16 Arizona 17 Stanford 18 Georgia Tech 19 Notre Dame 20 Liberty 21 Maryland 22 Gonzaga 23 Georgia 24 Clemson 25 Wake Forest 26 Connecticut 27 LSU 28 UCLA 29 Oregon 30 TCU 31 LBSU 32 Southern Miss 33 Northeastern 34 Louisiana Tech 35 NC State 36 UCSB 37 South Carolina 38 Tulane 39 UC Irvine 40 DBU 41 Old Dominion 42 Mississippi State 43 San Diego 44 South Alabama 45 Troy 46 Purdue 47 Penn 48 Texas A&M 49 Portland 50 Charlotte Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

John and Kyle break down all of the action from week 4 of college baseball, including Texas falling to South Carolina on the road, and predict all the best series from Week 5! Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Apple Podcasts Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Spotify. Get The College Baseball Nation Podcast on Google Podcasts Have a question for Kyle and John? Send a DM to us on Twitter (@CollegeBallNat) or an email to podcast@collegebaseball.info and we might answer it on the podcast. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

In only the fourth weekend of the 2022 college baseball season, the Pac-12 opened up their conference play with five matchups that begin to set the stage for the first Pac-12 tournament at the end of the regular season. All five matchups this weekend gave fans a glimpse of an unpredictable conference championship that awaits those who stay until the end. Oregon at No. 9 Stanford The Cardinal got a solid outing from their Friday night starter Alex Williams who threw seven innings and allowed just two runs on seven hits with ten strike outs, which tied a career high. But Williams was not around for the final outcome as Oregon closed out the game in the ninth to win 4-3. Stanford took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on Friday and that lead held until the fifth inning when Oregon tied the game. Oregon added a run in the eighth which was matched by Stanford in the bottom frame. Tanner Smith then led off the ninth inning with a home run to give the Ducks a 4-3 lead. Saturday gave spectators a view of what Pac-12 offenses can look like in best case scenarios. Neither starting pitcher fared well on Saturday and both were out of the game long before the wild finish. Stanford led 4-0 after the first inning, and they added a four-run spot in the second and led 9-3 after three complete. Oregon got four-RBI performances from both Gavin Grant and Jack Scanlon in a balanced offensive attack that even saw their six through nine hitters collect nine hits in the game. Stanford was led by Carter Graham who drove in five runs and Drew Bowser who drove in three in a 3-for-4 night. Though the Cardinal closed the gap with a four run ninth, they could not do any further damage and the Ducks prevailed victors in the 16-13 game. Stanford was looking to avoid being swept at home in Sunday's finale. Drew Dowd got the Sunday start for the Cardinal and allowed three earned runs over six innings and struck out six. Stanford’s Brett Barrera was 2-for-3 with a grand slam and a double and he got offensive help from Kody Huff who added two RBI of his own. Dowd stayed perfect on the season and improved his record to 3-0 with the 10-6 win. Oregon left Stanford having taken two of three games in a positive start to conference play for the Ducks. No. 11 Oregon State at Washington State The Oregon State Beavers opened their weekend by scoring eight runs in the top of the first inning against Washington State. Justin Boyd hit a three-run home run in the frame to lead the way, and Gavin Logan also added a two-run shot in the first. Left-hander Cooper Hjerpe took the mound for the Beavers on Friday and though he struggled early and allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings, his offense scored thirteen runs behind him and helped him improve to 4-0 on the year with the 13-3 win. In Saturday’s game, Oregon State once again set the tone and scored first, notching a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Logan and Jacob Melton both hit home runs, but the Beavers offense was limited to six hits in the contest. Jacob Kmatz improved to 3-0 on the season with a five-inning performance where he allowed just one run. The Cougars only had five hits in the 5-1 defeat. Oregon State went for the weekend sweep on Sunday, and in the first inning they looked well on their way to achieving it when they scored two runs to open the game, without even recording a base hit. A three-run second inning had the Beavers in front 5-1, but Washington State put up five runs from the fourth through sixth innings to keep the game close. Trailing 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth, the Cougars walked-off the Beavers when Bryce Matthews singled into right field with two outs to bring in the game winning run from third base. Oregon State won the weekend series 2-1 on the road. USC at No. 21 UCLA USC won Friday's opener at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Field 7-4 in a final score that was closer than the actual game indicates. USC scored four times in the second inning and added two more runs the eighth to lead 6-2. Jaden Agassi pitched well for USC, but he departed the game after 4 2/3 innings and thus did not qualify for the win. Trailing 7-2 in the ninth, the Bruins did get the tying run to the plate after pushing two runs across, but the Trojans closed out the opening night win. Max Rajcic led the Bruins to a win for UCLA on Saturday night when he took the mound and delivered five scoreless innings for John Savage’s team. The bullpen, allowing two runs (none earned), helped the Bruins the finish the game. The Bruins won the middle game 11-2 thanks to Michael Curialle (3-for-4) with three RBI and two-RBI performances by Ethan Gourson and Cody Schrier. USC jumped on UCLA for five runs in the opening frame on Sunday afternoon. Garret Guillemette capped the scoring with a two-run home run. Second baseman Tyresse Turner (3-for-4) also had two RBI. UCLA’s freshman right-hander Thatcher Hurd, named pitcher of the week by various outlets after his performance in Houston at the Shriners Classic was a bright spot out of the bullpen in Sunday’s loss after the Trojans knocked out UCLA’s starter in the fourth inning. Hurd went 4 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run and gave the Bruins a chance to get back in the game. It was a big time outing for the freshman that even in defeat, could yield bigger results down the road for UCLA. But the Bruins could not overcome the start by Charlie Hurley who allowed just two runs over six innings before a duo out of the USC bullpen led by Matt Keating preserved the 6-3 victory along with the weekend series. USC traveled across town to UCLA and took the series 2-1. No. 22 Arizona at California Arizona looked to be in control of Friday’s game as the led 8-2 going to the bottom of the sixth inning. But the Golden Bears rallied back and their four-run bottom of the ninth gave them a walk-off 9-8 win. Christian Becerra and Chris Stamos kept Arizona scoreless in the final 3 2/3 innings, and Cal's pitching staff struck out 14 Wildcat batters. Saturday’s middle game was tied at 2 going into the seventh inning, but then the Arizona offense came to life and scored eight runs in the final three innings. Four players went 3-for-4 in a balanced offensive attack where the team knocked out seventeen hits. The Wildcats received a strong outing on the mound from Garrett Irvin who went six innings and allowed just three runs before a trio of Arizona relief pitchers finished the job and closed out the 10-1 blowout. Daniel Susac hit two home runs for the Wildcats in the first inning of Sunday’s rubber match, part of a nine run first inning in which the contest was over well before it hit started. Arizona got a solid six inning start from Dawson Netz (2-0) on the way to taking the series from the Golden Bears on the road with the 13-5 win. After being walked-off and losing a one run game to open the series, Arizona won the weekend and outscored Cal 23-6 in the final two games. Washington at Utah Washington and Utah got their weekend series started on Saturday with a doubleheader in Salt Lake City in the only weekend Pac-12 matchup that did not feature a ranked team. Tied at three in the tenth inning, Washington scored three runs to take the lead and eventually won the game 6-3. Right-handed Matthew Sox was outstanding for the Utes in a losing effort. Six retired fifteen batters in a row over one stretch and he struck out nine in seven innings. The Huskies jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first in game two of the doubleheader. The Utes tied the game in the fourth with a five-run inning of their own. Utah catcher Carter Booth tripled with the bases loaded; his three RBI led his team in the second game. Bryson Van Sickle was clutch out of the Utah bullpen giving his team 3 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball and Utah held on to win 7-6. Utah’s Cam Day was the pitching star in Sunday’s series finale. Day tossed 6 1/3 innings and allowed Washington their only run in the fifth inning on his way to his first victory of 2022 in the 3-1 win. Utah scored two runs in the bottom of the first and added a run in the fourth. Both teams had five hits in Sunday’s game, and both committed one error defensively in what proved to be an evenly match game and series overall. After dropping the first game, Utah took the next two to win the home series 2-1. Final Thoughts No team in the Pac-12 swept their series this weekend, whether at home or on the road. Every team showed that at times, they can easily score enough runs to compete down to the wire. Friday night starters got hit pretty good, so that might indicate changes to the rotation before the conference tournament arrives, or for the teams that do not panic to make a change, those are just lessons learned, lumps taken on the road to the bigger picture. Where Friday starters did not fare well, Sunday starters also struggled, which is problematic once teams get into the conference championship scenarios and then hopefully into the NCAA tournament, when the schedules are less formulaic and teams reach the point where they have to “win or go home.” Despite the outcomes of opening weekend, Stanford and Oregon State appear poised to lead the Pac-12 based on their strong, experienced lineups. UCLA is close behind with their young lineup that has proven it can be good, but as with USC, has proven it can be stopped. Arizona is right there as well; they have many returning pieces from their team that made a run to Omaha a year ago, but they do have many new faces and a new head coach. Arizona State was the only team not to enter conference play this weekend as the “odd man out” with eleven baseball teams, so their chance to get into the mix still awaits them. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

As we near conference play, non-conference upsets continue to happen. Three of the top four in College Baseball Nations Top 50 lost at least one game this past weekend, and that was only the beginning. Dallas Baptist Storms Over No. 16 Southern Miss in Three-Game Sweep Dallas Baptist was yet another team that was struggling to find a groove in the early 2022 season. It’s safe to say they found it this past weekend when they hosted No. 16 Southern Miss. Dallas Baptist controlled the entire series, winning two close games — 3-1 and 2-0 — in Saturday’s doubleheader before stomping over the Eagles 10-4 Sunday. Pitching was the name of the game for Dallas Baptist, as Jacob Meador and Luke Eldred dominated in their outings. Meador threw 6.1 scoreless innings while Eldred threw seven of his own. In a Regional, these wouldn’t be two pitchers you would want to see. Blayne Jones was unbelievable on Sunday, as he went 5-for-5 with a home run and three RBI’s. The shortstop is now hitting .333 to start the season. Dallas Baptist had a similar start to last season, as they began the season 9-6, the same record they are now. After that, they won 32 of their remaining 44 games. After a Super Regional appearance a year ago, with this pitching staff it wouldn’t be too shocking to see DBU return to the second weekend come NCAA Tournament time. For now, it’s make-or-break time for Dallas Baptist. After Wednesday, when DBU will travel to play Oklahoma State, Dallas Baptist will play Oral Roberts and Maryland in back-to-back series with a mid-week game against UT-Arlington in the middle. Taking advantage of these non-conference opportunities will only bolster Dallas Baptist’s resume ahead of conference play. Evansville Sweeps No. 19 Tulane On The Road Starting the season with a 3-10 record isn’t ideal. Evansville flipped the switch immediately, as they traveled to No. 19 Tulane and completed a three-game sweep. In Shane Gray’s first start of the season, he allowed 10 earned runs at NC State. Since then, he's had three quality starts against Dayton, UIC, and this past weekend at Tulane. He stuck out nine in his Friday win. The Purple Aces' Saturday starter, Nick Smith, has been fantastic in his first four starts, as he has posted a 3.68 ERA in 22 innings; he’s struck out seven in each of his last two games. Tanner Craig had a big weekend for the Aces, as he brought in five runs combined in all three games. He holds a .339 batting average through the first few weeks of the season. Evansville hasn’t made a tournament since 2006, but with the way they played this past weekend, they could prove to be a threat in the Missouri Valley Conference. Evansville’s first two weekends were against ranked NC State and Dayton along with a mid-week game at Vanderbilt — not an easy way to start a season. Now that the Aces have a few wins under their belt, it wouldn’t be surprising if they begin to roll ahead of their weekend series at Northwestern. Middle Tennessee Takes 2 of 3 From Auburn Similar to Evansville, Middle Tennessee entered this weekend’s series at 4-9 on the season. Traveling to Auburn, the Blue Raiders were able to take two of three. Friday, Middle Tennessee’s offense dominated against Auburn, especially Nathan Sanders. Sanders went 3-for-4 with a big 7th inning two-run home run. He followed up Friday’s performance with a 2-for-5 day with a home run in Sunday’s first game; he’s hitting .313 on the year. In Sunday's second game, Sanders walked in all four of his plate appearances, including a bases-loaded walk to give Middle Tennessee a 4-3 advantage in extras, eventually giving them the win. The rotation has been strong so far for Middle Tennessee, as their top two starters, Zach Keenan and Peyton Wigginton both have ERA’s below 3.75 in the early season. After splitting the first two games of the series, Middle Tennessee was able to come back from a 3-0 deficit to clinch the series. Middle Tennessee now adds their two wins against Auburn to their resume that already included a win over the University of Illinois. But, they have had some struggles early, including getting swept at the University of South Alabama. There are 16 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!