It seems that at least once every year, the series to watch in college baseball is played in Starkville. Dudy Noble Field provides an atmosphere unlike many others in college baseball, and will host what just might be a battle for the nation’s #1 ranking, as #2 Arkansas (14-3) battles #3 Mississippi State (17-4) in a three-game series this weekend. The victor could possibly slide into the top spot, considering the magnitude, importance, and challenges both teams will face in this series. Entering the matchup, both squads are evenly-matched statistically, and have swiftly blazed through their respective non-conference schedules. “We know how good they are. We got to see them play three games in Arlington. We know they’re really good.” -Arkansas HC Dave Van Horn Arkansas’ only hiccup came in the form of a three-game losing skid from March 14 to March 19, and saw the Razorbacks drop the series finale to Louisiana Tech, a midweek to Oklahoma and 16-1 thumping in the SEC opener to Alabama. Yet, Arkansas seemed to find its rhythm quickly against the Tide in the final two contests of the series, winning by scores of 9-1 and 3-1 as precise pitching paved the way. Tuning up for the weekend, the Razorbacks trounced Memphis in a two-game set on Tuesday and Wednesday, winning by scores of 14-1, and 9-4. “We’re looking forward to going to Starkville,” said Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn in a postgame press conference Wednesday. “We know how good they are. We got to see them play three games in Arlington. We know they’re really good.” Mississippi State entered the weekend with an identical 2-1 record in SEC play, having posted two convincing victories over #12 LSU by scores of 6-1 and 3-0 to open the conference slate. Playing in Baton Rouge, the Tigers nabbed the final game of the series in an 8-3 win, and snapped what had been a nine-game winning streak for the Bulldogs. Mississippi State breezed through its non-conference schedule, notably defeating Southern Miss 4-1, Texas Tech 11-5, and Texas 8-3. The Bulldogs added an 18-1 rout of North Alabama on Wednesday night before looking ahead to the weekend. “We’re excited,” said Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis in a recent press conference. “This is the one that got pulled away from us last year. We were supposed to open with Arkansas and everything hit. The year before we went to Arkansas and had a bad outing. I know a lot of the older guys in the program were excited to play. They’re obviously very talented, well coached, and it will be a great match up all weekend." Often, especially in the SEC, pitching defines who wins the series. Mississippi State enters the matchup with a slight advantage on the mound, ranked #1 in the SEC in team ERA at 2.46. Do not get me wrong, the Bulldogs’ bats have plenty of pop, but their arms were impressive against LSU. The Tigers failed to keep up with the speed and accuracy of Mississippi State’s pitching staff, as LSU was held to just four hits in game one. Friday night starter Christian MacLeod and reliever Brandon Smith gave the Bulldogs a lethal one-two punch on the mound. LSU scored on an RBI single in the sixth inning, but would not score again until the first inning of the series finale, as Mississippi State followed Friday’s 6-1 win with a 3-0 shutout in game two. Second-year freshman Will Bednar started Saturday’s contest and picked up the first victory of the season in his second start of the year, retiring 13 consecutive batters between the first and fifth innings. The Bulldogs’ weakness on the mound has been inconsistencies from the pitching staff on Sundays, which was revealed in the 8-3 loss in the series finale. Starter Eric Cerantola made it through just 1.1 innings and allowed two earned runs, raising his 6.97 ERA to 7.71. Lemonis made a call to the bullpen four times throughout the loss, with only Jackson Fristoe making it through more than 1.1 innings. Arkansas’ weekend starting rotation has been strong this season, but will have a different look on Friday night. Patrick Wicklander will start in place of Peyton Pallette, who has a 3.72 ERA in five starts this season. Wicklander has primarily come out of the bullpen this season, and made just one start, but Van Horn appeared confident in the junior left-hander’s ability to give Arkansas a quality outing against MacLeod Friday. “He has experience. It’s not like he hasn’t pitched in regionals, super regionals, conference games on the road and at home,” said Van Horn of Wicklander. “If he can give us four quality innings that’d be great, any more would be even better.” Zebulon Vermillion is expected to start Saturday and Lael Lockhart on Sunday. Vermillion pounds the strike zone, and seldom allows runs to score with a 2.13 ERA and 2-0 record in four starts this season. Lockhart has only improved over the course of his five starts and has a 2.38 ERA. Of course, a preview of this series would not be complete without mentioning the bats. Arkansas has shown off its power time and time again, with 29 home runs, tied for third in the SEC. Leading the offense for the Razorbacks is infielder Brady Slavens, who has started all but one game this season, and is atop nearly every statistical hitting category on the team. Hitting .304 entering the series, the JUCO transfer has 21 hits, 18 runs, six homers and 20 RBI. The former Wichita State Shocker has made an immediate impact for the Razorbacks, though he went just 2-for-10 in the series against Alabama last weekend. “It’s a lot more difficult here,” Slavens said in a press conference last week. “You really get used to it, and if you don’t you get left behind. [You] really have to learn how to hit against these SEC type of arms. Everybody is good that you’re going to face, so you’ve got to learn and learn quickly.” Mississippi State also has several notable sluggers, including Kamren James, Tanner Allen, Logan Tanner, Luke Hancock, and Josh Hatcher, all of whom have started every game for the Bulldogs this season. James seems to be getting hot at just the right time, as the third baseman leads the team in batting average (.307) and went 3-for-4 in Sunday’s loss to LSU. There is a lot of fanfare surrounding this top five matchup and for good reason. Both teams are fighting, not only in the national rankings, but in the SEC standings. Ole Miss leads the West Division with a flawless 3-0 record, though Arkansas and Mississippi State are just one game back at 2-1. The winner of this series would become the early frontrunner in the West. “They’re all huge, but this one feels a little bigger because it is at home,” said Lemonis when asked about the anticipation before this series. “It was the one that was taken away. Our kids are very excited to play this weekend. I hope we’re not too excited.” Riley’s Prediction: These two teams are about as evenly matched as any two teams could be, something reflected in the rankings, and I do not see either team earning a series sweep. It is awfully hard to win in Starkville, no matter who you are, so Arkansas will have to battle that through all three games. In the end, though the Razorbacks have hit well for the majority of this season, I will take Mississippi State to win this season, behind solid pitching, and the consistency in the lineup. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

by Matt Sefcovic (@MattSefcovic) After starting 11-2 and sweeping North Carolina before the 2020 season abruptly ended, the Fighting Irish have nearly reproduced that record this season, improving to 10-3 (9-3 ACC) with their first non-conference game of the season on Tuesday night against Valparaiso. Coach Link Jarrett has Notre Dame primed to make their first postseason appearance since 2015, a team that has played in a NCAA regional just once in the last 13 seasons. The Fighting Irish had three games cancelled to begin the season and chose not to schedule midweek games until this week, but have looked dominant in a schedule containing primarily ACC opponents. Notre Dame was picked to finish dead last in the ACC Atlantic Division, receiving just 18 votes, as opposed to 39 by Boston College, the team directly ahead of them. On paper, this Notre Dame team doesn’t jump out at you as one of the Top 15 teams in the country, batting just .258 as a team, which is good for 145th in the country. They have a 3.85 team ERA, which is just inside the top 70 in the country. So, how are they winning? The Fighting Irish are doing all of the small things, committing just three errors all season with a .994 field percentage, the best in the country. Their pitching staff does not walk many batters and they have a very disciplined approach to the plate. Niko Kavadas leads the offense for Notre Dame with nine home runs (2nd in the country) and 23 RBI (fourth in the country with 1.77 per game.) He is joined by Jared Miller and Carter Putz as the only qualified batters above .300, which falls off after that, including two everyday starters batting in the .100’s. Notre Dame is certainly doing enough to win at this point in the season, but if the Irish want to make a run in the postseason, they will need more consistency throughout the lineup. In 12 ACC games, Coach Jarrett has used six different starters and has not announced who will be in the rotation this weekend, but John Bertrand (3-0) has been the only pitcher to start each weekend series. Joe Sheridan has been lights out from the bullpen, tossing 14.1 innings and has not allowed an earned run all season. Alex Rao has also been a bright spot for the pitching staff, allowing just one run in 12.1 innings of work with an opponents batting average of just .088. Notre Dame will heavily rely on these two bullpen arms to get through this weekend. After taking one on the chin against Georgia Tech in Atlanta to begin ACC play, Louisville bounced back by sweeping a Top 25 Boston College team and then taking three games from NC State in Raleigh. The Cardinals have struggled in midweek games, losing to both Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State, but they have seemed to figure things out on the weekend. After moving from the closer role last season, Michael Kirian (4-0) is having an All-American season and was named ACC Pitcher of the Week after his 13 strikeout performance last Friday against NC State. Kirian has a 0.77 ERA through his five appearances this season. Glenn Albanese (3-0), the Cardinals Saturday starter, missed two weeks but has bounced back and is steadily improving, boasting a 1.76 ERA with 15 strikeouts and just two walks. Freshman Kaleb Corbett has also been a key piece to the Cardinals success this year, throwing 14.2 scoreless innings to begin his career, striking out 21 batters. Coach McDonnell’s staff has struggled with control this season, walking 98 batters, just under fiver per game. At the plate, Louisville is led by Henry Davis, who enters the series with a 21 game hitting streak and .397 average. Davis is also tied with Cam Masterman and Cooper Bowman with five home runs a piece for the Cards. Pre-season All-American Alex Binelas started the season in a slump, but is seeing the ball better as the season progresses. Entering ACC play, Binelas was batting .065 but has increased his average to .215 over the last three weeks. Louisville leads the country in stolen bases with 56, which is something the Irish will need to keep in check this weekend as they face one of the most aggressive offenses they will see all year. The Cardinals will run early and often, putting a lot of pressure on Notre Dame Catcher David LaManna. Matt’s Prediction: This is going to be an exciting series with two of the best in the ACC this year battling it out, but I think the Louisville offense will be too much for Notre Dame. The Cardinals pitching staff has struggled at times this season, but pitching coach Roger Williams seems to have his weekend guys rolling. Give me the Cards in South Bend. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

by Matt Sefcovic (@MattSefcovic) Two of the SEC heavyweights met in the first weekend of conference play and did not disappoint in front of nearly 5,000 fans for each game. The Bulldogs proved to be the better team this weekend, holding LSU to just 16 hits over the three-game series, seven of them coming in the final game, the only game the Tigers won. Although Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Lemonis made changes to the weekend rotation, the Bulldogs pitching staff showed why they are one of the best in the country, striking out 31 batters over the three-game span. Christian MacLeod (W, 2-1) was dominant on Friday night for the Bulldogs, setting the tone for the weekend, allowing just one run in six innings on the way to a 6-1 victory. MacLeod never gave LSU a chance to gain any momentum, allowing just three hits and two walks before turning things over to the bullpen. Brandon Smith (S, 1) tossed the final three innings for Mississippi State, surrendering just one baserunner. Brayland Skinner led the way at the plate for the Bulldogs with his first home run of the season, adding two more hits and 3 RBI on the night. Jaden Hill, the Tigers Friday night starter, struggled for the second time in his last three outings, giving up six runs in 7.1 innings, although three runs came in the 8th inning. LSU never could get their offense on the same page, recording just four hits for the game. Coach Lemonis made a change to the Saturday rotation and sat Jackson Fristoe after the freshman began the season with a 2-0 record and 1.59 ERA during his first four starts. Will Bednar (W, 1-0) started in place of Fristoe and looked just as impressive as MacLeod on Friday. Bednar and fellow LSU starter Landon Marceaux (L, 2-1) battled it out in a pitchers duel that saw a total of nine hits for the game. MacLeod gave up just three hits in five innings while striking out seven before the bullpen closed the door for the final four innings. Preston Johnson and Landon Sims threw two innings apiece to complete the shutout against the Tigers, taking the second game 3-0 and securing the series win. Marceaux picked up the loss even though he did not give up an earned run, allowing just one unearned run in the fifth inning. Tigers Freshman Dylan Crews continued his hot streak as the only player in the game with multiple hits and raised his average to .403 after Saturday’s contest. After dropping the first two games, Sunday suddenly became very important for LSU to avoid the sweep. The Tigers offense came alive, outscoring the Bulldogs 8-3 after scoring just one run in the first two games combined. Brody Drost and Gavin Dugas led the way for the Tigers at the plate, each of them with a home run and 2 RBI. AJ Labas (W, 1-0) got his first win of the season after six strong innings of work, allowing just two runs on four hits in six innings. Ty Floyd and Devin Fontenot (S, 2) closed out the final three innings for the Tigers. Bulldogs starter Eric Cerantola raised his season ERA to 7.71 after allowing two runs in 1.1 innings to start the game. Many wonder how much longer Cerantola will remain in the weekend rotation as he continues to struggle this season. Fristoe (L, 2-1) took his first loss of the season after giving up the go ahead home run to Dugas in the sixth. If this series was any indication on how the SEC is going to play out this season, it is going to be a wild ride. Both teams have a ton of upside and can make deep postseason runs, but Coach Lemonis has the Bulldogs in a really good position with the stable of arms he has in the bullpen. It would not surprise me to see Mississippi State end up in Omaha yet again. Following the weekend, Mississippi State remained at number three in the College Baseball Nation Top 50, while LSU fell one spot to #12. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

Editor's Note: The College Baseball Nation Top 50 is brought to you by Press Sports. Over 1,000 college coaches from all levels are finding and connecting with prospects on Press Sports for FREE during COVID and it’s not too late to hop on the first wave! Every athlete should be posting all their top achievements together in one place and Press Sports is the #1 platform that is empowering athletes, engaging fans, and helping scouts discover talent. We’re getting ready to roll out a rankings filter for every level of college baseball as well as the option for college players to enter the transfer portal so coaches can easily find and watch all their highlights while they are trying to find a new program to play in. Join Press Sports today and follow us on Twitter! After defeating South Carolina in two out of three games over the weekend, #1 Vanderbilt rises to the top of the College Baseball Nation Top 50 for the first time this season. The Commodores' Jack Leiter no-hit the Gamecocks on Saturday for the first Vanderbilt no-hitter since Friday SP Kumar Rocker no-hit Duke in the 2019 Nashville Super Regional. #2 Arkansas falls from the top spot after a 2-2 week. The Razorbacks lost to a surging Oklahoma team in the midweek and took a 16-1 beating on Friday from Alabama before righting in the ship and closing out the weekend with back-to-back wins. #3 Mississippi State and #4 Ole Miss finish off a streak of four straight SEC teams to start the top 50. The Bulldogs took two out of three games on the road at LSU, while Ole Miss swept Auburn in Oxford. Louisville, fresh off a sweep at NC State, moves up one spot to #5. After losing to rival, Florida State, in the midweek, #6 Florida bounced back with a convincing sweep of Texas A&M to start SEC play. Just behind the Gators is #7 East Carolina. The Pirates swept Illinois State over the weekend. #8 Texas Tech, #9 Georgia Tech, and #10 Oregon round out the top ten. The Ducks won two out of three games against Arizona State this past weekend and have yet to lose a series. #11 Texas backed up a sweep of South Carolina with a road series win at Baylor. Since starting the season 0-3, the Longhorns are 14-3. #12 LSU falls just one spot after a competitive series against Mississippi State. #13 Notre Dame played its first series in South Bend over the weekend, and the Fighting Irish took two games off of Duke. Notre Dame has yet to drop a series on the year. #14 Pitt concludes its series at Virginia on Monday, but the Panthers have already clinched the series after winning the first two games. #15 Oklahoma State nearly took a series on the road at Texas Tech over the weekend, but a ninth inning rally fell one run short in the rubber match on Sunday. #16 Tennessee began SEC play with a series win at Georgia. The Volunteers are now 17-4 on the year. #17 San Diego State, averaging 9 runs per game, has overwhelmed its opponents with offense, including Air Force this past weekend. San Diego State took two out of three games. #18 TCU won two out of three against Louisiana, coming back to win the series after dropping the first game. #19 UCLA and #20 Arizona played three games in Los Angeles this past weekend, with the Bruins getting the better of the Wildcats in two of the games. #21 Florida State's 4-0 week, including a sweep at Miami, propelled the Seminoles back into the top 25. Florida State is followed by #22 Arizona State and #23 Miami. #24 Oregon State squeaked past Washington State to start Pac-12 play. #25 Louisiana Tech enters the top 50 this week. The Bulldogs are on a five-game winning streak that began last weekend with a win against Arkansas. Louisiana Tech knocked off Ole Miss in the midweek and swept Tulane on the road to improve to 13-5. #50 Gonzaga enters the rankings for the first time in team history. The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back road series wins, the first at TCU and the second at Santa Clara. The full top 50 can be found below. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

On Saturday, Vanderbilt starting pitcher, Jack Leiter threw a no-hitter against South Carolina as the Commodores defeated the Gamecocks 5-0. Leiter dominated South Carolina, striking out 16 Gamecocks hitters and walking just one. After the historic performance, Leiter said that he was doing his best to stay in the moment. His mantra? "Next pitch next pitch focus on the next pitch. You can't control the whole game's outcome on a single pitch." Leiter started the day walking the South Carolina leadoff hitter, Braylen Wimmer. That would be the last blemish on Leiter's line as he retired the next 27 hitters." Walking the first guy, obviously not what you want to do," said Leiter, who despite his dominating performance struggled commanding his offspeed pitches early in the game. "Honestly not until the sixth or seventh inning did things feel any different," Leiter commented. All of Leiter's 16 strikeouts came on the fastball, but his improved command of his offspeed pitches in the sixth inning and later allowed him to go the distance. A 10-pitch seventh inning culminated in Leiter striking out the college baseball homerun leader, Wes Clarke, for the third time on the day. The pitch? A 97mph fastball. After an efficient 11-pitch eighth inning, Leiter returned for the ninth and made history. In total, Leiter threw 124 pitches, by far a career high in just his eighth collegiate start. It was the first SEC start of Leiter's career. Despite early season success, Leiter had not been allowed to pitch past five innings all year. He said after his performance that there was an unspoken understanding that he was staying in the game and that no Vanderbilt coach approached him about taking him out. The performance was Leiter's fifth win in as many starts and lowered Leiter's season ERA to 0.31 over 29 IP. He has struck out 49 batters and walked just 11. The no-hitter was Vanderbilt's first since fellow teammate, Kumar Rocker, no-hit Duke in an elimination game in the 2019 Nashville Super Regional. The Commodores would go on to win the National Championship that season and remain the defending National Champions due to the cancellation of the 2020 College World Series. This season, Rocker and Leiter are a combined 10-0 with 97 strikeouts and 21 walks in 60 innings. After starting the season 11-0, South Carolina has now lost six straight games. The win clinched the three-game series for Vanderbilt, and the Commordores will go for the sweep on Sunday at 2:00 PM ET on SEC Network+. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

by Matt Sefcovic (@MattSefcovic) All eyes will be on Alex Box Stadium this weekend as Mississippi State (14-3) travels to Baton Rouge to take on a resilient LSU (15-3) team to begin SEC play. It will be the first true road test for the Bulldogs, although they played three games in Arlington against Texas, TCU, and Texas Tech to begin the season in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown. With the exception of Mississippi State playing a tough schedule to begin the season, both teams have very similar resumes heading into conference play. LSU enters this weekend as the #11 team in the country, which is good for 6th in the SEC. Once again, the SEC is the premier conference for all of college baseball and two of the best teams will be on display this weekend in one of the top-tier facilities in the country. The Tigers have been an exciting group to watch this year, with many freshman stepping up in big situations. The score does not matter to this team, they have proven multiple times that they are never truly out of the game, mounting multiple comebacks in late-inning deficits. Cade Doughty has embraced his role this year, leading the offense with 8 home runs and 25 RBI while batting .340. After Doughty, LSU has four freshmen that have made their presence known for Coach Mainieri. Dylan Crews, Tre’ Morgan, Brody Drost, and Jordan Thompson are all in the top 6 in batting average for qualified players; they have combined for 14 home runs, 43 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. Crews leads the way with a .406 average and 6 home runs. The future is awfully bright in Baton Rouge as the Tigers lead the country in home runs with 35. The Tigers pitching staff has struggled at times this season, especially against competition that does not stack up against what they will be facing in the SEC. They are currently ranked 76th in the country with a 4.02 ERA, but do have a few bright spots in the rotation. Landon Marceaux (2-0) has yet to allow an earned run in 4 starts, throwing 23 shutout innings, striking out 32 batters and only walking 3. Garrett Edwards, who leads LSU in saves with 2, has thrown 10 innings and has only allowed 2 earned runs. The Tigers Friday night starter, Jaden Hill, has looked impressive this year as well, with the exception of his start against Oral Roberts when he gave up 8 earned runs in .1 innings of work. If you take that start away, Hill has not surrendered another run all season. If you were to sum up the Bulldogs lineup, consistency comes to mind. They only have two players batting over .300, Tanner Allen and Luke Hancock, but have a team batting average of .279. Coach Lemonis is a fundamentals guy and put a lot of focus on the small things. The Bulldogs do not strike out often, just 6 per game, and are ranked 17th in the country with 25 stolen bases. They are aggressive on the basepaths and put pressure on the opposing team, which will continue this weekend in Baton Rouge. Hancock currently leads the offensive charge with 5 home runs and is tied with freshman Kamren James with 18 RBI. The Mississippi State pitching staff is one of the best in all of college baseball, boasting a 2.24 ERA, which is good for 7th in the country. The Bulldogs are also first in the nation in strikeouts per 9 innings, with 13.4 Freshman Jackson Fristoe (2-0), the Bulldogs Sunday starter leads the rotation with a 1.59 ERA and has recorded 22 strikeouts compared to 6 walks. Nine different pitchers on the staff have yet to surrender an earned run and 4 other pitchers have a sub-one ERA. Christian McLeod, the Bulldogs Friday night starter, is 1-1 with a 1.84 ERA but has only made it past the 4th inning in one of his 4 starts this season, a 5 inning performance against Eastern Michigan. Many are calling for Coach Lemonis to shake-up the rotation and move Eric Cerantola to the bullpen after starting 1-1 with a 6.97 ERA. Cerantola has struggled finding the zone this season with a WHIP just shy of 1.7, walking 7 batters in 10.1 innings. At this point, no decision has been made about the rotation this weekend, but Cerantola will certainly have a short leash if he remains the Saturday starter. Matt’s Prediction: This is a tough one, I lean towards the Dawgs, but Alex Box Stadium is a tough place to play. In the end, I think Mississippi State pitching staff will be too much for LSU. The Tigers schedule has not quite prepared them for this Mississippi State team, but I do not think they will lay down either. It does not get any better than this to start SEC play! Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

In honor of March Madness kicking off, we've put together an updated projected field of 64. While there is substantial shakeup since the preseason field of 64, there is still a strong SEC and ACC flair to the field. Check it out below! Also, be sure to check out this week's College Baseball Nation Top 50! Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

The first meeting between South Carolina and Texas since the 2002 College World Series lived up to expectations as a competitive series, though the result was the same as it was in Omaha, with Texas sweeping the series and outscoring the Gamecocks 15-6 in Austin. Entering the weekend, the Longhorns were 9-5 on the season after beginning the year 0-3 against top-ranked SEC opponents at the College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas. South Carolina, on the other hand, entered at a perfect 11-0. “We still remember Arlington,” said Texas head coach David Pierce following Sunday’s 8-5 win. “That keeps us very humble, that keeps us locked in. It’s a tough game and we didn’t start the way we wanted and after that weekend we had a meeting there in the tunnel and said ‘We’re going to remember this weekend. We’re going to remember how we started and every single day when we feel like we’ve got it figured out, we’re going to remember that.” Texas competed like it remembered that weekend very well, playing with a level of residency and fight evident in teams with the potential to be playing in Omaha by the end of the season. "What a great weekend," Pierce continued. "We had a team that went out and played consistent baseball. We had some timely hits and outstanding pitching against a very good hitting team. "I'm proud of our players. Whatever we've thrown at them, they've handled it." If there was one key for the Longhorns in the victories, it came in the form of Texas’ starting pitching. South Carolina was hitting .311 as a team entering the weekend, but the trio of Ty Madden, Tristan Stevens, and Kolby Kubichek kept the Gamecocks in check, finding ways to keep South Carolina off the basepaths. South Carolina had trouble getting the ball in the air, grounding out 15 times in Saturday’s 3-0 shutout, and the nation’s leader in home runs, Wes Clarke, was held to just one homer in the series. The Gamecocks did post 21 hits, but were unable to convert those into enough runs. Madden began the series on the right foot for Texas, showing excellent poise despite having trouble throwing his slider. "The thing with Ty tonight is that he really didn't have command and feel for his slider and he was basically pitching off of one pitch, so that tells you what kind of competitor he is," Pierce said postgame on Friday. "He didn't have his best, but he gave us seven (innings)." He gave Texas seven innings, and most importantly, allowed just one run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. The Gamecocks’ three, four, and five hitters, composed of Clarke, left fielder Joisah Sightler, and right fielder Andrew Eyster tallied all four of South Carolina’s hits, three coming off Madden, with Sightler scoring the lone run. Reliever Aaron Nixon earned the win, as Texas scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to earn the 4-1 win. Stevens, who started for Texas on Saturday, followed the same storyline. His sinker worked well, he said postgame, especially as he faced the opposing lineup for the second and third time. "I'd say the biggest thing was using my sinker," Stevens said. "My sinker command was a lot better than my past couple outings had been. Being able to throw that more, especially the second and third time through the order, helped open up my secondary stuff and keep those hitters off balance." His slider also worked him out of a jam in the fifth, as South Carolina placed runners on the corners with two outs following an error from Texas’ third baseman Cam Williams. Clarke stepped to the plate, and though he had been quiet for much of the series, still posed one of the biggest offensive threats from Texas’ perspective. Stevens induced two foul balls, with a ball sandwiched between, before striking out Clarke on what he labeled as one of his best sliders in the start. “I stepped off the mound, and I realized that this was something I'm used to," Stevens of facing Clarke. "I had to stop and tell myself, 'I've been in this situation before. I know how to get out of it.' I regrouped. I knew that was their best hitter, but I knew that if I challenged him with my best stuff then he'd have to hit it. That slider was definitely one of my best ones." The Gamecocks went down quietly in the next four innings, losing the series, but still holding onto the possibility of leaving Austin with a win. That was not in the cards, however, as Texas went full throttle at the plate in the series finale, earning an 8-5 win. The offense came alive for the Longhorns against South Carolina starter Julian Bosnic, who made it through just three innings in his first loss of the season. Using an old-school scoring mentality, Texas did not hit a single home run on Sunday, instead scoring on two sacrifice flyouts, three singles and two doubles, making the most of its 11 hits and stranding nine runners in comparison to South Carolina’s 13. All nine of the Longhorns’ starters tallied at least one hit in the game, with designated hitter Ivan Melendez and left fielder Eric Kennedy contributing with two hits each. Catcher DJ Petrinsky had just one hit in his fifth start of the season, but that double scored Texas’ fifth and sixth runs in the fourth inning, sealing the series sweep. Following Sunday’s loss, South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston was visibly disappointed in his team’s performance in its last weekend before SEC play, but noted that it was a “learning experience.” “Disappointed with the weekend, and the results obviously,” said Kingston, “but we learned a lot about this team that we can take forward both good and bad. We’ll make whatever adjustments we need to make and we’ll be better for having played this weekend. “The biggest thing is that if you’re willing to schedule these types of series, you’re going to have to be willing to take the punches and the hard lessons sometimes. We had a few hard lessons this weekend, the key now is to learn the adjustments that need to be made.” Those adjustments will be critical as South Carolina progresses through a challenging SEC schedule. #2 Vanderbilt looms this coming weekend, as the Gamecocks will travel to Nashville, Tennessee for the three-game set. Texas opens up Big 12 play in Waco, Texas this weekend, facing Baylor. The Horns moved up to #14 College Baseball Nation’s most recent Top 50 rankings, while the Gamecocks fell from #17 to #30. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

John and Kyle recap Week 4's best games, make a projected field of 64 (in honor of Selection Sunday/Monday), and try to pick Week 5's best series. 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!

by Matt Sefcovic (@MattSefcovic) Heading into the weekend, it was uncertain if and when this series would take place due to inclement weather in Stillwater. After the Friday evening game was postponed, Saturday and Sunday provided plenty of excitement for the much anticipated series between the Commodores and Cowboys. The Vanderbilt pitching staff was just too much for an Oklahoma State offense that was struggling going into the series, batting just .235 after the conclusion of the weekend. Although Vanderbilt was missing Dominic Keegan, their top hitter, and Luke Murphy, due to COVID protocols, the Commodores were able to secure the series in Stillwater. This should come as no surprise to anyone that Kumar Rocker was dominant in game one of the series on Saturday afternoon, striking out 9 batters through 8 innings, allowing just 2 hits. Rocker (4-0) has yet to surrender an earned run this season through 23 innings. In a game that took just 2 hours and 38 minutes, Vanderbilt did not exactly tear the cover off the ball, recording 8 hits on their way to a 5-0 victory, of which only 3 runs were earned. Parker Scott (3-1) took his first loss of the season after a season low in innings pitched (4.0) and season high in earned runs allowed, with 2. The Commodores bats came alive in game two on Saturday, outsourcing the Cowboys 18-4 to secure the series win. Troy LaNeve, Isaiah Thomas, and Tate Kolwyck all homered for Vanderbilt, who provided more than enough run support for Leiter (4-0). The offensive attack tallied 14 hits and added 14 walks, led by Parker Noland with 3 hits. The Commodores scored 6 runs in both the 6th and 8th inning. Cade Cabbiness led the way for the Cowboys with a two-run home run in the 7th inning but it was not enough to keep up with Vanderbilt. Like Scott in the first game, Justin Wrobleski (1-1) recorded his shortest start of the season, going just 3 innings and allowing 4 earned runs. Leiter picked up the victory after throwing 5 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits with 7 strikeouts. The Cowboys offense exploded in game three for more hits than they had in games one and two combined with 12, on their way to a 10-6 win to avoid a sweep at home. They jumped on Vanderbilt starter Thomas Schultz (1-2) with 6 runs in the second inning to force his early departure. Brock Mathias, Nolan McLean, and Alix Garcia each homered in the game for the Cowboys, led by McLean with two home runs and 4 RBI. Bryce Osmond (2-0) picked up the win, although he gave up 5 runs in 6.2 innings. Thomas and Kolwyck, who both homered in game 2 for Vanderbilt, also hit home runs in game three, with Thomas adding two more to his season total. Going into SEC play next weekend, this could become the norm for Vanderbilt, dominating the first two games of the series before battling out game three. Schultz, their third starter, currently has a 6.00 ERA and is responsible for both losses on the season. Good news for Commodore fans, Rocker and Leiter have been nearly untouchable with 0.00 and 0.45 ERA’s, respectively. This Vanderbilt team has all the tools to make a deep postseason run, but Coach Corbin will need to find a third option before the end of the year. Maybe it is Schultz, but it would not surprise me to see changes to the rotation if his numbers continue on this trend. The Cowboys team ERA increased nearly 1.5 runs after the series against Vanderbilt, but they will not see offenses that stack up to the Commodores on a regular basis. Oklahoma State currently has a .235 team batting average, which needs to improve in order for the Cowboys to remain competitive in the Big 12. This team displays a lot of talent, especially in their rotation, but it will be up to Coach Holliday to get everyone in sync heading into conference play. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

Editor's Note: The College Baseball Nation Top 50 is brought to you by Press Sports. Over 1,000 college coaches from all levels are finding and connecting with prospects on Press Sports for FREE during COVID and it’s not too late to hop on the first wave! Every athlete should be posting all their top achievements together in one place and Press Sports is the #1 platform that is empowering athletes, engaging fans, and helping scouts discover talent. We’re getting ready to roll out a rankings filter for every level of college baseball as well as the option for college players to enter the transfer portal so coaches can easily find and watch all their highlights while they are trying to find a new program to play in. Join Press Sports today and follow us on Twitter! Arkansas remains in the top spot of the Top 50 for the third straight week. The Razorbacks saw their perfect season come to an end after a 2-1 weekend at Louisiana Tech. However, they handed Louisiana Tech their first two losses at home of the year. All-in-all, it was a successful weekend for Arkansas. #2 Vanderbilt took two out of three games at Oklahoma State's brand new stadium. After Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter dominated the Cowboys in games one and two, Oklahoma State's bats woke up in the third games to avoid the sweep. #3 Mississippi State carried a streak of four straight shutouts into and through most of the weekend before finally giving up a run. The Bulldogs' week was highlighted by a midweek win against Louisiana. #4 Ole Miss, with a 3-1 week moves up one spot to number four. #5 Miami rounds out the top five after a 2-0 weekend against Wake Forest. #6 Louisville moves up two spots after sweeping Boston College at home. Following the Cardinals is #7 Florida who had a 4-1 week. #8 East Carolina took a midweek game at Duke and swept Charlotte at home over the weekend. #9 Georgia Tech falls five spots after losing a home series against Pitt, while #10 Texas Tech moves up two spots after a 5-0 week. #11 LSU and #12 Arizona land just outside the top ten, followed by #13 Oregon. The Ducks are 6-1 in their last seven games with four wins at UCSB and two wins at Oregon State. #14 Texas swept South Carolina in dominating fashion, especially on the mound. Oklahoma State finishes off the top 15. Despite losing two weekend starters, #16 Arizona State is on a nine-game winning streak and is up five spots this week. #17 Boston College falls three spots after getting swept at Louisville. Notre Dame moves up to #18 after sweeping Virginia on the road. The Fighting Irish have started the season with three straight road ACC series and have won them all. #19 Pitt knocked off Georgia Tech on the road and moves up 19 spots. #20 TCU lost two out of three at home to Gonzaga over the weekend and fell 11 spots. #21 San Diego State and #22 UCLA are trending different directions, with San Diego State yet to lose a series and UCLA losing two series this season already. #23 Georgia interrupts a string of West Coast teams as #24 Oregon State follows. #25 Virginia Tech finishes off the top 25. Oregon, Notre Dame, and Pitt all enter the top 25 for the first time in poll history. #27 Southern Miss moves up 12 spots after sweeping Louisiana. #34 Stanford and #35 Indiana each jumped up seven spots after winning weekends. #44 San Diego re-enters the poll. Since losing opening weekend to San Diego State, San Diego has gone 10-1. #45 UNCW, #46 Old Dominion, #48 FGCU, and #50 Sacramento State each enter the College Baseball Nation Top 50 for the first time. The full top 50 can be found below. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!

Usually, at this point in the season when conference play has started or is about to start for most conferences, we are talking about how deep the SEC is and how there are no weekends off for any contender in the SEC. This year, that conference is the ACC. #8 Louisville is fresh off a tough road series loss at #4 Georgia Tech and they have to turn around and host a hot #14 Boston College team, who itself is just coming off of an intriguing road series win on the Plains at Auburn. That series was intriguing because it was scheduled last Wednesday due to COVID cancellations by their former opponents and not many in SEC country expected BC to be able to go on the road and take the series from Auburn. It was even more shocking because BC was down 9-1 entering the ninth inning and then later in the frame, they were down to their last strike, still down 9-3. A walk, a double, and a three-run home run later and the game was tied. Boston College 2B Luke Gold then hit a two-run home run in the top of the 10th to seal it for the Eagles. Those 10 runs in two half-innings is enough to change the season outlook for both teams. BC could leverage this road series win into a potential NCAA tournament host bid and Auburn might be in some trouble come SEC play. A lot can change in the blink of an eye or the swing of a bat. BC has a scary offense, enough to put a scare into the Louisville pitching staff this weekend. They are led offensively by Juniors Sal Frelick (CF) and Cody Morissette (3B) and on the mound by righty Mason Pelio. You can read more about this trio as prospects here. Frelick is currently on a torrid pace to start the year, hitting .478 so far this short year and is fourth in the country in hits. His teammate Morissette might boast a slightly lower batting average, but he is really patient at the plate, drawing the third most walks in the ACC. Not to be outdone, Luke Gold is currently ninth in the country with five home runs. Suffice it to say that they are all studs and will likely be picked early in the draft this year. BC is a team with plenty of talent on it, but not much history of success, which is why many around the country might not have seen this hot start coming*. A series win at Duke, who itself is talented and ranked, was how the Eagles started ACC play. It helped key many in on just how much potential this team has going forward. One question that still exists for this team is how the pitching staff can hold up against an electric offense, like Louisville’s, for example. If they can find a little consistency on the mound and start limiting the walks (173rd in the country in walks allowed per nine innings), they could definitely contend in the ACC. If that does not happen and they lose this series, however, Boston College still has time to get back in the ACC race with 33 more conference games to go. For Louisville, the names are well-known: Henry Davis (C), Alex Binelas (3B), and Levi Usher (OF), just to name a few. This group of sluggers leads one of the better offenses in the country (17th in hits, 45th in team batting average), and looks to be the strong suit of this team going forward. Head coach Dan McDonnell loves to coach his team to create havoc on the base paths and they are continuing that trend, leading the country in stolen bases. To say Louisville is a bad team after this past weekend on the road against Georgia Tech would be extremely unfair. They might have played uncharacteristically poor defense and struggled on the mound, but they were competitive in all three games, and even took the Friday night game without staff ace Glenn Albanese. The return of Albanese should help this team find some consistency on the mound. There is a lot of ACC play left this year and Louisville will have its hands full with the bevy of contenders on its schedule, but there is certainly no need to panic yet. Kyle’s Prediction: I predict that we, the audience, will have fun watching home runs and high-scoring innings! I also think that Louisville’s arms will be just enough to take this series for the Cardinals. On the podcast this week, I picked Louisville to sweep BC, but that was just because John had already picked Louisville to go 2-1. That is more like what I expect to happen. For BC to take this series, they will need runners on the base paths and pressure on Louisville’s pitching staff, which is looking to make a name for itself after last week’s debacle. *Fine, I’ll say it. I didn’t see it coming. Thanks for stopping by! Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram to keep up with all of our content!