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Upsets By Alabama, NC State Highlight College Baseball’s Weekend (Off The Bat)

Teddy Cahill — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:42:54 +0000

This weekend provided a bounty of storylines to follow around the country. The top two ranked teams in the Top 25 both lost a series in the same weekend for the first time since March 11-13, 2022, as Arkansas lost at Alabama and Clemson lost to NC State. A top-five series ended in a comprehensive sweep. There were rivalries and hot streaks and series that will shape conference title races.

In short, it was a lot of fun. Here are 15 takeaways from around the country on the weekend that was in college baseball.

1. Arkansas came into this weekend’s series at Alabama ranked No. 1 and riding a 10-game winning streak. It had lost just three games all season and just once since the start of March. The Crimson Tide, meanwhile, had lost four straight and five of their last six games.

Because this is the 2024 college baseball season, Arkansas of course won Friday’s opener, 5-3, behind a strong start from Hagen Smith (6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K) and then lost the next two games. Alabama evened the series Saturday with a 4-3 victory in 10 innings and then won the finale, 5-0, as freshman Zane Adams (8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K) and Alton Davis II combined for a four-hit shutout. It was the first series loss of the season for the Razorbacks (30-5, 12-3) and knocked them from atop the rankings.

Alabama (24-12, 6-9) won the series by beating Arkansas at its own game. The Razorbacks have the best pitching staff in the nation and while they didn’t have their best weekend on the mound, they still gave up just 12 runs in a road SEC series. But the Tide’s pitching staff outdueled them, holding the Razorbacks to just eight runs on the weekend. Sunday’s shutout was the first time Arkansas had been shutout since Mississippi’s Dylan DeLucia threw a four-hit shutout against them in the bracket final of the 2022 College World Series.

Alabama didn’t get the best outing Friday night from righthander Ben Hess (5 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 8 K). But Adams on Sunday was outstanding and lefthander Greg Farone (5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K) was solid Saturday. The bullpen held the Razorbacks to two runs on three hits and three walks in 10 innings.

Alabama has been solid on the mound this season, despite some injuries and Hess, a Preseason All-American, not at his best (3-3, 6.41, 65 K, 23 BB, 39.1 IP). This weekend was a reminder of how high the ceiling is on the mound for the Tide.

2. This was a major series win for the Tide and its importance can’t be overstated. Alabama came into the weekend just 4-8 in SEC play and if it had taken another series loss, it would have been left with a heavy lift in the second half of conference play just to get to the 13 conference wins that are usually required for SEC teams to get at-large bids.

The second half of SEC play is also brutally tough for the Tide. Fresh off beating the No. 1 team in the country, Alabama gets another crack at the top-ranked team as Texas A&M, which ascended to the top spot in the rankings, comes to Tuscaloosa this weekend. Trips to Mississippi and Mississippi State follow before Alabama finishes with LSU and at Auburn.

On paper, the schedule eases after A&M leaves town. But Alabama is 3-7 in road games and has been swept in its two conference road series—at Georgia and at Kentucky. Until it proves it can beat quality competition on the road, trips to the Magnolia State and a visit to archrival Auburn, which will either be playing for its postseason life or playing its own CWS, can’t be taken for granted.

3. For Arkansas, there’s no cause for alarm after this series. Just about every team in the country has had a bad weekend and going on the road has been incredibly difficult in the SEC this season.

That said, Arkansas is maybe more vulnerable to this kind of weekend than is comfortable. Its pitching staff is the best in the nation. Its offense, however, is not in the same tier. The Razorbacks rank 12th in the SEC in scoring (6.97 runs per game). They fare comparatively better in conference play, ranking ninth at 5.47 runs per game, but this isn’t a high-powered offense.

So how much of an issue is the lineup? Another SEC team may catch Arkansas in the same way Alabama did this weekend—especially with road trips to South Carolina, Kentucky and Texas A&M still to come. It’s hard to see any team coming into Baum-Walker Stadium, where the Razorbacks are 25-1 this season, and outpitching Arkansas for a weekend. Omaha, assuming Arkansas gets there, may be a different story, but that’s a long way off.

4. Clemson came into its series against NC State ranked No. 2 in the country and having not lost a series all season. And, like Arkansas, that changed this weekend. The Wolfpack won the first two games of the series, winning 11-8 in Friday’s opener and 4-0 on Saturday. It became the first team to shut out Clemson since March 25, 2022 (Pittsburgh).

NC State went into the series on a five-game losing streak and came away with a much-needed series win. The Wolfpack got a couple solid starts from Dominic Fritton (5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K) and Cooper Consiglio (6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K). They also did a good job of taking advantage of some sloppiness from the Tigers, who made seven errors in the first two games.

NC State (20-13, 10-8) really needed the series win. Not only did it stop a losing streak, but the rest of the Wolfpack’s ACC schedule is brutally tough. It still has home series against North Carolina and Wake Forest and visits to Florida State and Virginia on the slate. All four of those teams are ranked in the top 15 and just splitting those 12 games feels like it would be a significant accomplishment. This weekend gives NC State a measure of breathing room before the finishing stretch.

5. Like Arkansas, Clemson (29-6, 11-4) shouldn’t feel cause for alarm a poor week (it also lost to S.C.-Upstate on Tuesday). Its bats weren’t particularly good all week—it scored 20 runs in four games and was outhit in all three losses—and its defense let it down against NC State.

But every team in the country has a weekend like this at some point. The key for the Tigers is going to be how it responds. Sunday’s 7-0 win behind an excellent outing from righthander Aidan Knaak (8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K) was a good start. Clemson this week gets some fortunate scheduling with Charlotte (16-20) and Pittsburgh (14-18) coming to Doug Kingsmore Stadium. It needs to take advantage.

6. The series losses for Arkansas and Clemson opened up the top of the rankings. Texas A&M was more than ready to take over at No. 1 following a commanding sweep of Vanderbilt. The Aggies didn’t allow a run for the first 17 innings of the series (a streak that stretched into Sunday due to Friday’s run-rule shortened victory) and scored 36 runs on the weekend. It was as emphatic a sweep as you could ask for, especially against a team that came into the weekend 10th in the nation in ERA (3.71).

The Aggies (32-4, 11-4) are No. 1 for the first time under coach Jim Schlossnagle and look like the most complete team in the country. Their rotation of Ryan Prager (7-0, 1.98), Tanner Jones (3-1, 3.86) and Justin Lamkin (2-1, 4.19) is solid, and Evan Aschenbeck (4-0, 1.47, 5 SV) and Chris Cortez (5-1, 2.32) give them a pair of weapons out of the bullpen. The lineup is averaging 8.97 runs per game with star outfielders Jace LaViolette (.303/.463/.765, 16 HR) and Braden Montgomery (.380/.509/.891, 19 HR) leading the way. And it’s a solid fielding team (.980).

A&M’s lone series loss came at Florida on the first weekend of SEC play. But it handled that setback well and is 14-2 since. The rest of the schedule sets up fairly well. It still has road trips to Alabama, LSU and Mississippi, none of which are easy, especially this weekend in Tuscaloosa (just ask Arkansas), but all are manageable. It hosts Georgia and Arkansas, two teams you’d much rather get at home than on the road.

A&M has won the SEC just once (2016). Kentucky and Arkansas are going to have something to say about whether the Aggies can win another title, but the Aggies can feel great about where they are at the mid-point of SEC play.

7. Vanderbilt (26-10, 8-7) was always going to be fighting an uphill battle going on the road to College Station but this was still a weekend to forget. The Commodores were shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since 1995 and were behind from the jump, as A&M opened Friday’s game at the plate with a walk and back-to-back home runs from LaViolette and Montgomery.

While I want to say this is the kind of weekend you just forget about, I don’t think it’s that simple for Vanderbilt. The Commodores have spent all season ranked in the top 10 but when you really start to evaluate their resume, it’s anything but straightforward. I’ll probably dive into this more in this week’s Projected Field of 64, but suffice it to say, Vanderbilt would be on the hosting bubble if Selection Monday were today.

Selection Monday, of course, is still more than a month away. Vanderbilt has plenty of time to shore things up. But after a very difficult weekend, it’s clear the Commodores have work to do.

8. West Virginia picked up a hard-fought sweep of UCF and has now won seven of its last eight games. The Mountaineers needed late comebacks in Friday’s 7-6 victory, when they scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to push ahead, and in Sunday’s 11-10 victory in 11 innings, when they needed to score twice in the ninth to force extra innings.

West Virginia (22-13, 11-4) remains in first place in the Big 12 and surged into the top 30 of RPI. After treading water for more than a month without All-American JJ Wetherholt, the Mountaineers are 6-1 since he returned to the lineup April 5. It’s not all Wetherholt, but having him back at the top of the lineup does seem to have energized the team and they’ve put themselves in a position where they can make a run at the conference title and a home regional with a strong finishing kick.

9. UCF (21-12, 8-10) had a brutal week, going 0-4 with a loss at Stetson thrown in. This was the second time the Knights have been swept in Big 12 play, as they also went winless at Oklahoma.

I don’t think this weekend was too much cause for concern. West Virginia is a very good team and the conditions in Morgantown were very difficult—Friday night was played in a steady rain and the wind howled all weekend. On the other hand, UCF is now under .500 in conference play despite the fact it won four of its six Big 12 series. The problem is the Knights have yet to sweep a conference series and they’ve been swept twice.

The Big 12 is as full of parity as any major conference, but UCF’s schedule seems to ease down the stretch (Central Michigan, Cincinnati, at Houston, Texas, at Baylor). Finish strong and the Knights should be in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Hosting is still on the table but will probably require them to go at least 8-4 in their remaining conference games.

10. Florida State put together an excellent week, going 4-0 against archrivals Florida and Miami. The Seminoles started it Tuesday with a 19-4, seven-inning victory against the Gators to complete the season sweep. They then swept the Hurricanes, completing a season sweep of both their rivals for just the second time in program history and the first time since 1960.

Neither Florida (18-17) nor Miami (16-19) is playing particularly well right now. But that shouldn’t diminish the Seminoles’ accomplishment after they thoroughly beat both rivals this season. They didn’t trail after the first inning in any of the six games and allowed an average of 5.0 runs against their rivals.

As great as this week was for Florida State, it did also get some bad news. Righthanders Cam Leiter and Conner Whittaker both missed their starts. Leiter (5-1, 4.63) also missed his start last week at Boston College. Coach Link Jarrett this week told reporters in Tallahassee that while Leiter was doing better, he wasn’t ready to return. Jarrett said Whittaker (4-0, 5.31) struggled to bounce back from his start at BC but that it was too early to know his long-term prognosis. Florida State has also been without righthander Ben Barrett (1-0, 1.86) for more than a month.

Lefthanders Brady Louck (2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 K) and Carson Dorsey (3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K) this week stepped into the rotation, with lefthanders Brennen Oxford (4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K) and Andrew Armstrong (4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K) piggybacking them. The strategy worked against Miami, but obviously Florida State is a better team with Leiter and Whittaker in the rotation. Getting them back sooner than later would be a big boost.

11. For the first time in seven seasons, Mississippi won the rivalry series against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs won Friday’s opener, 8-0, before the Rebels bounced back Saturday for a wild, 10-9 victory in 12 innings and then rolled to a 14-2 victory in seven innings Sunday.

For Ole Miss (20-16, 5-10), the series win couldn’t have come at a better time. Friday’s loss was the Rebels’ eighth straight and 10th in 12 games. They had lost three straight series since beating South Carolina on opening weekend of SEC play and were staring down yet another series loss to their archrivals.

But Ole Miss made a stand Saturday. It was down 7-3 in the middle of the eighth inning before rallying to tie the game. Mississippi State pushed ahead with a run in the top of the 11th and 12th innings. Both times, the Rebels responded, including Jackson Ross’ two-run walk-off single.

Ole Miss is still facing an uphill battle to put together an NCAA Tournament resume. With its current RPI (29), it would have a solid shot at a bid with 13 SEC wins, which would mean going 8-7 in the second half of conference play. Ole Miss will need to play better on the road than it has to this point (4-8) to hit that mark, but perhaps we’ll look back at Saturday’s gutty win as a turning point.

12. Because it’s a major rivalry and because Mississippi State lost the series for the first time since 2015 and because of the way it lost Saturday and Sunday, the heat this weekend got turned up in Starkville.

Mississippi State’s bullpen, which has been solid this season, couldn’t hold any of the leads it was handed Saturday. Nothing went right Sunday, as Ole Miss scored its biggest win in the history of the rivalry. In the end, the series was a tale of two halves: Mississippi State outscored Ole Miss, 15-3, over the first 16.5 innings and then got beat, 21-5, the rest of the way and lost the series.

You can really get granular about what went wrong in Oxford, but the reality for the Bulldogs is probably that they’re about a .500 SEC team. There are some strong building blocks like outfielder Dakota Jordan (.370/.494/.770, 15 HR) and starters Khal Stephan (5-2, 2.84) and Jurrangelo Cijntje (5-1, 3.80). Mississippi State can hang with anyone in the conference—it’s the only team this season to beat Texas A&M in College Station—but it struggles away from home. The Bulldogs are likely headed back to the NCAA Tournament after missing the last two years but probably won’t host.

That doesn’t mean Mississippi State can’t get hot down the stretch or in June and make a run, but it’s going to need some players to step up on both sides of the ball.

13. Kentucky (30-5, 14-1), meanwhile, just kept winning. The Wildcats rolled to a sweep at Auburn, blasting 11 home runs on the weekend. They’re not only off to their best ever start to conference play, they’ve also won a program-record 10 straight SEC games.

I was most impressed by their ability to win in such a different way the last two weekends. Against Alabama a week ago, it was all pitching, as Kentucky allowed just three runs in the series. At Auburn, they scored 28 runs and showed that their offense isn’t all about running and playing small ball. That kind of versatility will serve the Wildcats very well down the stretch and into June.

14. Oklahoma (21-14, 11-4) snapped out of its rut with a sweep of Kansas State to keep pace with West Virginia atop the Big 12 standings. The Sooners had lost eight of their last 12 games coming into the week before on Tuesday beating Texas-Arlington and then sweeping aside the Wildcats.

It was a get-right week in a big way for Oklahoma, which did not trail in any of the four games. Adding to the good news, outfielder John Spikerman made a cameo Sunday, appearing as a pinch-runner for his first action since breaking his hamate March 16.

If Oklahoma put its midseason swoon to bed, everything is still in front of it. The Sooners RPI is up to 19 and its in contention for the Big 12 title (though both West Virginia and Oklahoma State hold tiebreakers against it).

15. A week after winning a crucial series against UC Santa Barbara to firmly take control of the Big West, UC Irvine hit a snag. The Anteaters lost Tuesday at Southern California and then took a gut-punch of a series loss at UC San Diego, the reigning champion.

The Tritons and Anteaters traded blowouts in the first two games of the series, setting up Sunday’s rubber game. The game went back and forth, but UCSD led 8-5 going into the ninth inning. UCI scored four runs in the top of the ninth to retake the lead but it couldn’t hold on. Brock Kleszcz hit a two-out triple to tie the game and then the Tritons won the game when a pop up fell in just inside the left field line beyond the infield.

It was a week to forget for UCI (25-7, 11-4), but it’s still in first place in the Big West. The Anteaters need to bounce back quickly because it doesn’t have a large lead, but it gets to return home this week, where it is 13-3 on the season.

Eight for Omaha

Arkansas, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, Oregon State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, West Virginia

One change to the field this week as West Virginia replaces Vanderbilt. Am I being aggressive with the Mountaineers? Maybe. But I’ve been driving this bandwagon all year. They were my Omaha Sleeper before the season started and I’m ready to go all-in now. As I’ve repeatedly written, the Big 12 has had a representative in the College World Series every year for the last decade. So, why not the Mountaineers, who are rolling and have one of the best players in the nation at the top of their lineup?

Looking Ahead

No. 7 Kentucky hosts No. 3 Tennessee in SEC East showdown. The Wildcats (30-5, 14-1) and Volunteers (30-6, 11-4) have been two of the most consistent teams in the country this year. Kentucky has won a program-record 10 straight SEC games and will finish the weekend in first place in the SEC East regardless of the outcome. But these teams are thinking about more than a division title. Both are in contention for the conference title and this series will also have implications come May when the selection committee seeds the hosts.

No. 22 NC State hosts No. 11 North Carolina for rivalry weekend. Fresh off its series win at Clemson, NC State (20-13, 10-8) returns home to host North Carolina (29-7, 14-4). The Tar Heels swept the series last year in Chapel Hill and are 7-4 against the Wolfpack since the pandemic. NC State will be looking to use its home-field advantage, as it is 16-4 at Doak Field this season.

No. 20 Louisiana puts streak on the line at No. 21 Coastal Carolina. The Ragin’ Cajuns (28-9, 14-1) have won 14 straight conference games since losing to Arkansas State on opening day of the Sun Belt season and 19 of their last 20 games overall. They’ll bring that streak to Spring Brooks Stadium, where the Chanticleers (24-11, 9-6) are 19-4 this season. While this is a first vs. second showdown in the Sun Belt standings, Louisiana will be in first place at the end of the weekend no matter how the series unfolds. But there’s a lot on the line for both teams, particularly Coastal, which has a very realistic path to hosting.

The post Upsets By Alabama, NC State Highlight College Baseball’s Weekend (Off The Bat) appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

College Baseball Top 25 Rankings

Teddy Cahill — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:11:11 +0000

Texas A&M rises to No. 1 in the Baseball America Top 25 after a 4-0 week, punctuated by a comprehensive sweep of Vanderbilt.

The Aggies are ranked No. 1 in the Baseball America Top 25 for the first time since the final rankings of the 2016 regular season. They lead the nation in wins (32) and have an impressively well-rounded team, as they average 8.97 runs per game and rank second in the nation in ERA at 3.14.

Arkansas, which had ranked No. 1 for the last five weeks, falls to No. 2 after its first series loss of the season. Tennessee, Clemson and Florida State round out the top five. The Seminoles are ranked in the top five for the first time since 2022.

Four new teams join the Top 25, led by West Virginia at No. 18. NC State is No. 22, with Lamar and Oklahoma slotting in at Nos. 24 and 25, respectively. NC State and Oklahoma are returning to the rankings, while West Virginia and Lamar are making their season debuts. Lamar is in the Top 25 for the first time since the final ranking of 1995.

Mississippi State, UCF, Virginia Tech and Nebraska dropped out of the Top 25 after losing series.

The staff of Baseball America determines the Top 25 rankings. Records indicated are through April 14.

Weekend Record reflects a team’s weekend results as a collective unit in an effort to incorporate tournament results and not just reflect a team’s record in weekend series.

Related content

1. Texas A&M

Previous ranking: No. 3
Last week: 4-0
Overall: 32-4, 11-4 in SEC (9-4 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 8-1

Results

April 9: UTSA: W 6-5
April 12-14: (5) Vanderbilt: W 15-0 (7), W 9-0, W 12-6

Upcoming

April 16: Air Force
April 18-20: @ (12) Alabama

A&M rises to No. 1 following a comprehensive sweep of Vanderbilt that saw it outscore the Commodores, 36-6, and start the weekend with 17 straight scoreless innings. Gavin Grahovac, Jace LaViolette and Braden Montgomery, the first three hitters in the lineup, all homered twice on the weekend. The Aggies have won 12 of their last 13 games and will put that hot streak to the test as they this week travel to Alabama, which just knocked Arkansas out of the No. 1 spot in the rankings.

2. Arkansas

Previous ranking: No. 1
Last week: 3-2
Overall: 30-5, 12-3 in SEC (5-2 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 8-1

Results

April 9-10: San Jose State: W 5-1, W 8-2
April 12-14: @ (16) Alabama: W 5-3, L 4-3 (10), L 5-0

Upcoming

April 16-17: Texas Tech
April 19-21: @ (19) South Carolina

After winning the series opener, Arkansas proceeded to drop the next two games for its first series loss of the season. In what has been the norm this season for the Razorbacks, Hagen Smith (6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K), Mason Molina (6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 6 K) and Brady Tygart (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K) all turned in strong starts. The bullpen, however, faltered on both Saturday and Sunday while their offense scored just one run across the final 13 innings. Arkansas has a tricky week ahead as it will host Texas Tech before traveling to No. 19 South Carolina.

3. Tennessee

Previous ranking: No. 4
Last week: 4-0
Overall: 30-6, 10-5 in SEC (6-4 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 8-1

Results

April 9: Alabama A&M: W 20-2 (7)
April 12-14: LSU: W 6-3, W 3-1, W 8-4

Upcoming

April 16: Bellarmine
April 19-21: @ (7) Kentucky

The Volunteers continued to roll with a sound sweep of LSU. While their offense is the story most weeks, it was their pitching that led the charge this weekend. Drew Beam did not allow an earned run across 6.2 innings in his start, while on Friday AJ Causey threw 4.2 scoreless innings in relief. In his return to the lineup, Billy Amick did not miss a beat as he crushed two home runs and had three RBIs. Tennessee this weekend travels to Kentucky for a top-10 showdown.

4. Clemson

Previous ranking: No. 2
Last week: 1-3
Overall: 29-6, 11-4 in ACC (4-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 8-1

Results

April 9: S.C.-Upstate: L 9-5
April 12-14: NC State: L 11-8, L 4-0, W 7-0

Upcoming

April 16: Charlotte
April 19-21: Pittsburgh

The Tigers suffered their first losing week of the season, going just 1-3 at home. After getting upset Tuesday by S.C.-Upstate, Clemson lost the first two games of the weekend against NC State. It was the Tigers’ first ACC series loss since it was swept at Wake Forest at the end of last March. Clemson rebounded for a 7-0 win in Sunday’s finale, led by eight scoreless innings from righthander Aidan Knaak. Clemson continues its homestand this week, welcoming in Charlotte and Pittsburgh.

5. Florida State

Previous ranking: No. 7
Last week: 4-0
Overall: 30-5, 10-5 in ACC (2-3 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 8-1

Results

April 9: Florida: W 19-4 (7)
April 11-13: Miami: W 5-4, W 11-7, W 6-4

Upcoming

April 16: Mercer
April 19-21: @ (14) Wake Forest

Florida State had a week to remember, starting Tuesday with a run-rule victory of Florida to complete a season sweep of the Gators. The Seminoles then swept Miami on the weekend, marking just the second time in program history and the first time since 1960 that they swept the season series against both of their rivals. Outfielder Max Williams and third baseman Cam Smith, the top two hitters in Florida State’s lineup, both went 6-for-12 with a home run on the weekend. Florida State faces another tough ACC series this week as it heads to Wake Forest.

6. Duke

Previous ranking: No. 6
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 26-10, 11-7 in ACC (6-4 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 7-2

Results

April 9: William & Mary: L 4-2
April 13-14: @ Pittsburgh: W 14-4 (7), W 4-3, L 11-10

Upcoming

April 16: Gardner-Webb
April 19-21: @ Virginia Tech

Duke didn’t play its best baseball this week, but it bounced back from a midweek loss to William & Mary with a series win at Pittsburgh. Alex Stone and Devin Obee paced the offense with seven and five RBIs, respectively, while in Saturday’s doubleheader five bullpen arms combined to throw 9.2 scoreless innings in which they allowed just two hits. After a midweek matchup against Gardner-Webb, the Blue Devils will travel to Blacksburg for a tough series against Virginia Tech.

7. Kentucky

Previous ranking: No. 10
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 30-5, 14-1 in SEC (6-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 8-1

Results

April 9: @ Samford: L 9-7
April 11-13: @ Auburn: W 6-5, W 9-1, W 13-8

Upcoming

April 16: @ Louisville
April 19-21: (3) Tennessee

Kentucky bounced back from a loss Tuesday at Samford to sweep Auburn and improve to 14-1 in SEC play. The Wildcats have won a program-record 10 straight SEC games and only Texas A&M has more wins than they do. After last weekend impressing on the mound, Kentucky showed it can also win with its bats, hitting 11 home runs on the weekend. Kentucky faces a huge week ahead, first traveling on Tuesday to Louisville for an in-state showdown and then hosting Tennessee on the weekend in a battle between the top two teams in the SEC East standings.

8. Oregon State

Previous ranking: No. 8
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 29-5, 10-4 in Pac-12 (1-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 8-1

Results

April 9: Portland: W 11-8
April 12-14: Stanford: W 6-0, W 3-1, L 11-10

Upcoming

April 16-17: @ Nevada
April 19-21: @ California

The Beavers this weekend extended their winning streak to eight games before dropping the series finale. For as high-powered as their offense is, it was their pitching this weekend that stole the show. Aiden May (6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K) and Jacob Kmatz (6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K) combined to allow only one run across 12 innings, while a quartet of bullpen arms turned in scoreless appearances. Oregon State this week will hit the road for five games, headlined by a series against California.

9. Virginia

Previous ranking: No. 9
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 27-8, 11-7 in ACC (7-4 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 7-2

Results

April 9: VCU: W 8-4
April 12-14: @ Louisville: W 21-3, L 14-10, W 16-7

Upcoming

April 16: @ Old Dominion
April 17: George Mason
April 19-21: Georgia Tech

Virginia broke out its big bats in a series win at Louisville. The Cavaliers scored 47 runs on the weekend, the latest impressive display from the nation’s best lineup. Freshman Harry Ford homered three times one the weekend and third baseman Luke Hanson went 7-for-13 in the series and homered twice in Sunday’s clincher. Virginia returns home this week to host George Mason and Georgia Tech.

10. East Carolina

Previous ranking: No. 12
Last week: 4-1
Overall: 28-7, 8-4 in American (3-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 8-1

Results

April 9: Elon: W 12-0 (7)
April 10: Old Dominion: W 7-5
April 12-14: Charlotte: W 11-0 (7), W 5-1, L 8-7

Upcoming

April 16: @ William & Mary
April 19-21: Wichita State

It was quite the week for East Carolina who spun a pair of seven-inning no-hitters against Elon and Charlotte, respectively. On Tuesday, Jaden Winter (4 IP), Chris Kahler (2 IP) and Parker Thomas (1 IP) combined to no-hit Elon, while on Friday Trey Yesavage (6 IP, 12 K) and Jackson DiLorenzo (1 IP) no-hit Charlotte. It was a balanced attack offensively for the Pirates in their series against Charlotte, but Ryley Johnson led the way with six RBIs. After a tricky midweek matchup at William & Mary, ECU this weekend hosts Wichita State.

11. North Carolina

Previous ranking: No. 14
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 29-7, 14-4 in ACC (6-5 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 6-3

Results

April 9: vs. (25) South Carolina (Charlotte): L 2-1
April 12-14: Notre Dame: W 13-0 (7), W 7-2, W 10-3

Upcoming

April 16: (21) Coastal Carolina
April 18-20: @ (22) NC State

A loss Tuesday in Charlotte against South Carolina brought a tough end to UNC’s seven-game road swing. The Tar Heels returned to the friendly confines of Boshamer Stadium and continued their winning ways at home. They improved to 23-0 with a sweep of Notre Dame, trouncing the Fighting Irish by a combined score of 30-5. UNC faces a difficult week ahead, hosting Coastal Carolina on Tuesday before a quick trip down the road to NC State.

12. Alabama

Previous ranking: No. 16
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 24-12, 6-9 in SEC (7-7 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 7-2

Results

April 9: South Alabama: L 5-4
April 12-14: (1) Arkansas: L 5-3, W 4-3 (10), W 5-0

Upcoming

April 16: UAB
April 18-20: (1) Texas A&M

The Crimson Tide bounced back from an 0-2 start to their week with a marquee series win against top-ranked Arkansas. They won Saturday in walk-off fashion thanks to an errant throw by the pitcher, before on Sunday freshman Zane Adams (8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K) and Alton Davis II—who earned Saturday’s victory—combined to shut out the Razorbacks. It was a quiet weekend from an offensive standpoint, but Ian Petrutz and Bryce Eblin combined for four of the Tide’s 10 RBIs. Alabama this weekend welcomes No. 1 Texas A&M to Tuscaloosa.

13. Vanderbilt

Previous ranking: No. 5
Last week: 1-3
Overall: 26-10, 8-7 in SEC (6-7 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 7-2

Results

April 9: Middle Tennessee State: W 14-1 (7)
April 12-14: @ (3) Texas A&M: L 15-0 (7), L 9-0, L 12-6

Upcoming

April 16: @ Lipscomb
April 18-20: Florida

It was a weekend to forget for Vanderbilt who was soundly swept by Texas A&M. After being shut out on both Friday and Saturday, the Commodores on Sunday jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before the Aggies’ offense took control. Their pitching struggled mightily, and no starter pitched deeper than the fourth inning. Vanderbilt will look to get back on track this weekend as it hosts a scuffling Florida team.

14. Wake Forest

Previous ranking: No. 18
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 24-11, 9-9 in ACC (5-8 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 6-3

Results

April 9: (22) Coastal Carolina: W 12-3
April 12-14: @ Boston College: W 13-1 (8), L 5-4, W 9-3

Upcoming

April 16: vs. UNC Wilmington (Durham, N.C.)
April 19-21: (5) Florida State

Wake Forest this week stayed hot and has now won seven of its last eight games since it was swept by North Carolina. First baseman Nick Kurtz remains locked in at the plate, going 8-for-15 with five home runs this week to bring his tally to 13 homers in nine games. Wake has a challenging week ahead, as it on Tuesday takes on UNC Wilmington before hosting red-hot Florida State on the weekend.

15. UC Irvine

Previous ranking: No. 11
Last week: 1-3
Overall: 25-7, 11-4 in Big West (2-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 8-1

Results

April 9: @ Southern California: L 12-5
April 12-14: @ UC San Diego: L 15-4, W 16-3, L 10-9

Upcoming

April 17: Southern California
April 19-21: vs/@ San Diego State

Following an upset at Southern California, UC Irvine suffered its first series loss of the season at the hands of UC San Diego. The Anteaters bounced back from their loss on Friday night with a double-digit win of their own, but dropped Sunday’s finale—in which they scored four runs in the ninth inning to take a 9-8 lead—in walk-off fashion. UCI will look to bounce back this week with a rematch against USC and a home-and-home series against San Diego State.

16. Oregon

Previous ranking: No. 17
Last week: 3-2
Overall: 25-10, 10-5 in Pac-12 (0-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 8-1

Results

April 9-10: Sacramento State: L 15-8, W 11-4
April 12-14: Southern California: W 4-1, W 5-3, L 4-2

Upcoming

April 16: Gonzaga
April 19-21: @ Stanford

Following a midweek split with Sacramento State, Oregon picked up a key series win against Southern California. In what was a down week for the Ducks’ offense, their pitching staff rose to the occasion. On Friday, RJ Gordon allowed one run across 8.1 innings while in Saturday’s series-clinching victory the bullpen duo of Ryan Featherston (3 IP) and Bradley Mullan (1 IP) combined to throw four scoreless innings. The Ducks this weekend will take on Stanford in hopes of extending their Pac-12 series winning streak to six.

17. Oklahoma State

Previous ranking: No. 23
Last week: 4-0
Overall: 25-11, 10-5 in Big 12 (3-3 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 7-2

Results

April 9: @ Wichita State: W 9-5
April 12-14: Cincinnati: W 8-4 (10), W 12-5, W 10-6

Upcoming

April 16: (23) Dallas Baptist
April 19-21: Kansas State

Oklahoma State continued its winning ways with a perfect 4-0 week that included a midweek win against Wichita State and a sweep of Cincinnati. In Friday’s come-from-behind win, Lane Forsythe played the hero by blasting a walk-off grand slam. Aidan Meola paced the offense on Saturday, going 2-for-5 with a grand slam of his own, while on Sunday the Cowboys crushed five home runs. Oklahoma State’s pitching is still arguably its biggest strength, but it was encouraging to see the offense have a breakout weekend. The Cowboys have now won four straight series and this week take on No. 23 Dallas Baptist before a series against Kansas State.

18. West Virginia

Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 22-13, 11-4 in Big 12 (5-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 4-2-3

Results

April 10: @ Marshall: L 3-2 (10)
April 12-14: (19) UCF: W 7-6, W 7-5, W 11-10 (11)

Upcoming

April 16: Pittsburgh

April 19-21: @ Texas Tech

West Virginia swept UCF in a wild, windy series in Morgantown to remain atop the Big 12 standings. The Mountaineers required late comebacks in Friday and Sunday’s games, sandwiched around another complete game performance from lefthander Derek Clark, his third in his last four starts. West Virginia has won seven of its last eight games and will look to continue that hot streak this week against Pitt and then at Texas Tech.

19. South Carolina

Previous ranking: No. 25
Last week: 3-1
Overall: 25-11, 8-7 in SEC (5-6 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 5-4

Results

April 9: vs. (14) North Carolina (Charlotte): W 2-1
April 12-14: @ Florida: W 10-3, W 9-8, L 11-9

Upcoming

April 16: @ The Citadel
April 19-21: (2) Arkansas

After last weekend taking a tough home series loss against Texas A&M, South Carolina rebounded with a big week away from Founders Park. First, the Gamecocks won a tight game against North Carolina in Charlotte, with Dylan Brewer providing the game-winner in the eighth inning. South Carolina followed that up with a series win at Florida in a super regionals rematch. It doesn’t get any easier this week, as South Carolina welcomes Arkansas to Columbia.

20. Louisiana

Previous ranking: No. 24
Last week: 4-1
Overall: 28-9, 14-1 in Sun Belt (0-2 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 7-2

Results

April 9: Prairie View A&M: W 11-2
April 10: Louisiana Tech: L 7-2
April 12-14: Marshall: W 3-1, W 1-0, W 2-0

Upcoming

April 16-17: @/vs. Southeastern Louisiana
April 19-21: @ (21) Coastal Carolina

The Cajuns are ragin’. Louisiana saw its 16-game winning streak snapped Wednesday against Louisiana Tech, but it got right back on the horse with a sweep of Marshall. Its pitching staff allowed just one run on the weekend and finished the weekend with back-to-back one-hit shutouts. The Ragin’ Cajuns have won 14 straight Sun Belt games and will put that streak to the test this weekend at second-place Coastal Carolina.

21. Coastal Carolina

Previous ranking: No. 22
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 24-11, 9-6 in Sun Belt (2-2 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 7-2

Results

April 9: @ (18) Wake Forest: L 12-3
April 12-14: @ Georgia Southern: W 7-3, L 10-3, W 16-4 (8)

Upcoming

April 16: @ (11) North Carolina
April 19-21: (20) Louisiana

Coastal Carolina this weekend picked up a key Sun Belt series win against Georgia Southern that was punctuated by a run-rule victory in Sunday’s finale. The Chanticleers scored 26 runs across three games and eight different hitters drove in at least one run. Sam Antonacci logged at least one hit in each game this weekend, while Caden Bodine, Zack Beach and Graham Brown combined to drive in 13 runs. A gauntlet of a week awaits Coastal, who after traveling to Boshamer Stadium—where No. 11 North Carolina is 23-0 this season—squares off against No. 20 Louisiana, who has won 14-straight Sun Belt games.

22. NC State

Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 20-13, 9-9 in ACC (5-3 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 7-2

Results

April 9: @ UNC Wilmington: L 5-4
April 12-14: @ (2) Clemson: W 11-8, W 4-0, L 7-0

Upcoming

April 16: Campbell
April 18-20: (11) North Carolina

NC State re-enters the Top 25 after a big series win at Clemson. Six different Wolfpack hitters on Friday drove in at least one run, led by Eli Serrano who went 3-for-4 with four RBIs. In Saturday’s series-clinching victory, Dominic Fritton (5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K), Jacob Dudan (1.1 IP) and Derrick Smith (2 IP) combined to shutout the Tigers. Smith was outstanding this weekend for the Wolfpack, as across two games he spun three scoreless, hitless innings in which he collected five strikeouts. NC State this week takes on Campbell before a huge series against archrival North Carolina.

23. Dallas Baptist

Previous ranking: No. 13
Last week: 1-2
Overall: 26-8, 6-3 in C-USA (2-2 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 7-2

Results

April 12-14: @ Air Force: W 3-2, L 7-5, L 10-6

Upcoming

April 16: @ (17) Oklahoma State
April 19-21: Louisiana Tech

The Patriots continued to struggle as they dropped their second consecutive series. After a complete-game, nine strikeout effort Friday night by Ryan Johnson, DBU on Saturday squandered a ninth-inning lead before losing handily Sunday. Its offense—which earlier this season looked like one of the more dangerous units in the country—is averaging just 3.5 runs per game in its last six games and its pitching—outside of Johnson—has also struggled. DBU has a tough week ahead with a matchup at No. 17 Oklahoma State before a tricky series against Louisiana Tech that will have weighty implications in the conference title race.

24. Lamar

Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 4-0
Overall: 29-6, 8-1 in Southland (3-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 9-0

Results

April 10: Stephen F. Austin: W 7-2
April 12-14: Southeastern Louisiana: W 2-1, W 10-3, W 8-2

Upcoming

April 19-21: @ Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Lamar enters the Top 25 for the first time in more than 25 years following a perfect week to run its record to 29-6 on the season. The Cardinals have won six straight games and 10 of their last 11, including a sweep of Oklahoma. Only Texas A&M, Arkansas, Florida State, Kentucky and Tennessee have more wins than they do this season. Lamar, which ranks in the top five nationally in ERA, will look to stay hot this weekend with a trip down the gulf coast to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

25. Oklahoma

Previous ranking: NR
Last week: 4-0
Overall: 21-14, 11-4 in Big 12 (4-2 vs. Top 25)
Weekend record: 5-4

Results

April 9: Texas-Arlington: W 11-9
April 12-14: Kansas State: W 12-5, W 11-4, W 8-7

Upcoming

April 18-20: @ BYU

After a midseason swoon that saw it lose three straight series and drop out of the Top 25, Oklahoma this week got back on track and returns to the rankings. After beating UTA, it swept Kansas State to keep pace with West Virginia atop the Big 12 standings. Oklahoma didn’t trail at any point this week and earned its third conference sweep of the season, already its most since 2018. Oklahoma this week hits the road to travel to BYU.

The post College Baseball Top 25 Rankings appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

Charlie Condon Is Threatening A Ton Of NCAA Records

J.J. Cooper — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 13:21:28 +0000

Georgia third baseman/outfielder Charlie Condon hit two more home runs on Thursday night in the Bulldogs’ 15-10 win over Missouri.

As are often the case for Condon, these home runs left little doubt they were leaving.

His first home run sailed far over the left field fence. UGA’s Trackman measured it as going 457 feet with a 115 mph exit velocity.

*queues Paint It, Black*#GoDawgs | @CharlieCondon14 pic.twitter.com/oe4pPTgPKs
— Georgia Baseball (@BaseballUGA) April 12, 2024

His second went “only” 416 feet at a 108 mph exit velo.

There’s a new mailman on campus #GoDawgs | @CharlieCondon14 pic.twitter.com/JUn7q6VwtK
— Georgia Baseball (@BaseballUGA) April 12, 2024

Those two home runs gave Condon, the top-ranked player on Baseball America’s Top 300 Draft Prospects, 23 home runs this season. It also reinforces just how much he’s making a run at NCAA history.

College baseball’s offensive environment in the past decade has changed dramatically. When Kris Bryant hit 31 home runs in 2013, he was out-homering entire teams, because the combination of new bat regulations and high-seamed baseballs had largely eliminated home runs from the game.

Now the opposite is true. Division I college baseball is at the most offensive it’s been since the “gorilla ball” era of the late 1990s. But even in an exceptionally high-scoring era, what Condon is doing is historic.

Condon doesn’t have a realistic shot of breaking Oklahoma State’s Pete Incaviglia’s single-season record of 48 home runs, but that was set in a truly different time.

There were no set start dates in 1985. Incaviglia’s Cowboys team played in 75 games that season with 65 regular season games. Georgia will play 53 regular season games, so even if they go deep in the NCAA tournament, they are likely to play 10 or more fewer games than Oklahoma State did in 1985.

But if you look at home runs per game, Condon is ahead of Incaviglia’s pace. Incaviglia hit 0.64 home runs per game. Condon is hitting .68 home runs per game.

That won’t get Condon the home run rate record either, as Augusta’s Keith Hammond averaged 0.74 home runs per game in 1987, but if he keeps this up, it will easily be the best of the 21st century. Gonzaga’s Nate Gold’s .59 home runs per game in 2002 is the only time any D-I hitter in the 2000s has topped .54 home runs per game.

No 21st century college hitter has topped 33 home runs (Jac Caglianone in 2023). Only seven in the 21st century have hit more than 30 home runs. At the rate he’s going, Condon may exceed that number in the regular season (he’s on pace to do it in Georgia’s 50th game of the season).

Condon actually has a better shot of breaking the single-season Division I slugging percentage record, which is also held by Incaviglia. Condon’s 1.113 slugging percentage is just a tick below Incaviglia’s 1.140. Condon’s .926 career slugging percentage is even closer to Rickie Weeks’ career slugging record of .927. Incaviglia is the only other D-I hitter with a career slugging percentage above .900. Pat Burrell’s .886 ranks third.

Condon is also hitting .484, which is currently second in D-I to Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Edwin Delacruz’s .520. No D-I hitter has topped .480 in a season since Milwaukee’s Mike Getz hit .493 in 2006.

The post Charlie Condon Is Threatening A Ton Of NCAA Records appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

JJ Wetherholt Is Back & Nick Kurtz Won’t Stop Hitting Home Runs

Carlos Collazo — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 13:18:57 +0000

Carlos and Peter hop back on the draft podcast to talk about players up and down the board. They get things started by talking about JJ Wetherholt’s return to the lineup for West Virginia last weekend and try and think through where he fits on the draft board now. Is he fully back into the 1-1 mix that he started the season at or have players like Charlie Condon and Travis Bazzana created a gap?

And how about Nick Kurtz? The Wake Forest slugger has gotten back to his power-hitting ways over the last two weeks and all of the sudden looks like the exact sort of hitter we expected to see. Can he rejoin the top-of-the-draft conversation as well and just how insane has his home run streak been?

The two move further down the board to discuss another big power name, but one without the same refined offensive approach as Kurtz: Mississippi State outfielder Dakota Jordan. The two marvel at his bat speed, talk about his improvements this spring and dig into some of the details about his overall offensive approach and hit tool questions.

Next the two talk about Texas shortstop Jalin Flores as a potential salve for the 2024 class’ lack of impact shortstops and wonder about how real his loud spring performance is thus far.

Finally the two close by talking about ECU righthander Trey Yesavage, who continues to post weekly, rack up strikeouts, limit his walks and deploy a deep pitch mix with impressive feel to command the baseball.

Time Stamps

(3:45) JJ Wetherholt’s return to action
(11:00) Are Wetherholt and Nick Kurtz back in the 1-1 convo?
(14:30) Nick Kurtz’s home run streak
(23:30) Mississippi State OF Dakota Jordan
(31:30) Should we talk more about Texas SS Jalin Flores?
(40:45) Trey Yesavage’s SP3 case in the class

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The post JJ Wetherholt Is Back & Nick Kurtz Won’t Stop Hitting Home Runs appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

Arkansas Pitching Staff Stands Out Not Just For Quality, But Also Depth

Teddy Cahill — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:34:20 +0000

Arkansas was locked in a pitchers’ duel at Auburn on March 21. The Razorbacks scored a run in the top of the first inning but hadn’t been able to scratch out anything more. Meanwhile, All-American lefthander Hagen Smith had stymied the Tigers for six innings, striking out 12 and working around three hits and two walks.

Things got a little messy in the sixth, however. A hit batter, an error and a four-pitch walk had loaded the bases for Auburn with two outs before Smith rolled a ground ball to end the inning on his 87th pitch of the night.

Arkansas could have sent Smith back out to start the seventh inning. It was a tight ballgame; its ace was on the mound and his pitch count was manageable. Instead, coach Dave Van Horn and pitching coach Matt Hobbs made the call to the bullpen for senior righthander Will McEntire. He threw two perfect innings before turning the game over to freshman righthander Gabe Gaeckle, who got the final three outs of Arkansas’ 1-0 victory in the series opener.

Two days later, Arkansas faced a different—but similar—decision. The Razorbacks led, 5-1, in the sixth inning. Starting pitcher Mason Molina had thrown five solid innings on 74 pitches. But he had started the third time through the order in the fifth inning, his stuff had taken a bit of a dip and the Tigers had scored a run on a walk and two hits.

The Razorbacks again made the move to the bullpen. This time, it didn’t work quite as planned. They needed three pitchers to get out of the sixth, and by the time the inning was over, the 5-1 lead had turned into a 7-6 deficit. Auburn went on to win the game, 8-6, avoiding the sweep.

“The tactic was we have a lead, he’s gotten us this far, it was starting to falter a little, so let’s go fresh arm because we have fresh arms,” Hobbs said. “I feel like that’s going to work out more times than it isn’t.”

Arkansas has consistently stuck to that process this season and, far more often than not, it’s worked. The Razorbacks are 29-3, ranked No. 1 in the Top 25 and are riding a 10-game winning streak going into this weekend’s series at Alabama.

The pitching staff—both its depth and quality—has been a big reason for the Razorbacks’ outstanding start to the season. They lead the nation in ERA at 2.56, well ahead of No. 2 Texas A&M’s mark of 3.23. It’s not just earned runs, either. Arkansas has allowed just 85 total runs, an average of 2.66 per game. Every other team in the country has allowed more than 120 runs. The Arkansas defense also deserves some of the credit, as it is fielding .981 (11th nationally).

Smith has arguably been the best pitcher in the country this season. He’s 6-0, 1.76 with 83 strikeouts and 14 walks in 41 innings.

“I think maybe people don’t realize what they’re watching,” Van Horn said. “I’ve watched a lot of baseball games, watched a lot of pitchers, had a lot of pitchers, but Hagen is really good. And you know it’s just hard to come out and be good every outing. He’s become such a pitcher now.”

Molina (3-0, 3.38) and righthander Brady Tygart (3-0, 2.70) join him in the nation’s best rotation. McEntire (2-0, 1.75, 4 SV) has emerged as one of the nation’s elite relievers. The bullpen overall has a 2.80 ERA, which leads the nation according to data compiled by FridayStarters.com.

“It seems like when guys are getting an opportunity they’re going in there and taking advantage of their time on the mound and pitching extremely well,” Van Horn said.

Arkansas has top-end talent. What really sets it apart from other national championship contenders is the number of quality pitchers it can turn to in any game. It’s not an accident that the Razorbacks have built that kind of pitching staff in 2024. Its depth requires intention in roster building and in the day-to-day management of the staff.

All that work has been successful so far, but the ultimate payoff is still a couple months away in the postseason. That’s what all the effort is building toward.

“We need a bunch of guys,” Hobbs said. “We need to find seven, eight guys you trust in a pen, three starters, a couple guys that if you get to game four of a regional that can go out and start.

“If we do that, we’ll have as good a chance as anybody else.”

How To Watch NCAA Baseball Top 25 Teams, Best Matchups & More This Weekend: Week 9

Peter Flaherty — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 16:06:05 +0000

It seems hard to believe, but there are just six weekend series left in the regular season. Outside of Arkansas and Clemson at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, there has been plenty of movement each week within the Top 25. The rankings are as volatile ever which—to me, at least—has made this season extra fun to follow. Even in the last 48 hours, 11 different ranked teams have dropped midweek games. Switching gears to this weekend, there are plenty of marquee matchups to keep a close eye on. Outside of a top-five showdown in College Station, there is a key Big 12 series as well as a pair of intriguing series out West.

Additionally, here are some helpful links to aid your college baseball consumption this weekend…

No. 5 Vanderbilt (26-7, 8-4 SEC) at No. 3 Texas A&M (29-4, 8-4 SEC)

The eyes of the college baseball world this weekend will be on Blue Bell Park, where the fifth-ranked Commodores will clash with No. 3 Texas A&M. Vanderbilt heads into this weekend riding a pair of consecutive SEC series wins over Missouri and LSU, respectively. While it has been a difficult season for LSU, last weekend’s series win was still impressive given that Alex Box Stadium is one of the most hostile road environments in all of college baseball. Texas A&M has been firing on all cylinders all season. Outside of a series loss at Florida almost a month ago, the Aggies do not have a hiccup to speak of.

Given how tough of a task it is to win two-straight road games at A&M, Friday’s game feels like an important one for Vanderbilt. The ‘Dores will turn to junior righthander Bryce Cunningham (4-1, 3.64 ERA)—who has seen his draft stock soar this spring—to set the tone. Cunningham got hit around last week and surrendered three home runs, but he has been fantastic otherwise. Speaking of fantastic, rotation mate Carter Holton (5-0, 3.27 ERA) has spun five consecutive quality starts and has looked like one of the best arms in the SEC.

For as good and as deep as Vanderbilt’s lineup is, it feels like for the Commodores to come away with a series win, it will need its arms to step up in a major way. Texas A&M’s lineup is by far the most potent offense Vanderbilt’s pitching staff has had to navigate, but between its one-two punch in the rotation and army of bullpen arms, it has what it takes to leave College Station with a massive series win.

There is an argument to be made that Texas A&M is the most complete team in all of college baseball. Its team ERA of 3.20 ranks second nationally, while its lineup is hitting a combined .303. The Aggies’ lineup is a melting pot of returners, impact freshmen, high-profile transfers and veterans. Braden Montgomery (.389/.516/.889) and Jace LaViolette (.293/.460/.732) provide the star power, but Pennsylvania transfer Jackson Appel (.358/.483/.653) and Columbia transfer Hayden Schott (.323/.387/.489) are two steady, veteran presences who provide the lineup with invaluable experience. Gavin Grahovac (.317/.410/.626) has continued to look like one of the best freshmen hitters in the country, while slick-fielding shortstop Ali Camarillo (.300/.401/.400) has come on as of late.

A&M’s pitching staff also matches up well with Vanderbilt’s arms. It has more depth as a whole and boasts an impressive one-two punch of its own in Ryan Prager (6-0, 2.30 ERA) and Justin Lamkin (2-1, 3.41 ERA). The Aggies have a bevy of reliable bullpen arms, but will especially rely on Evan Aschenbeck (4-0, 1.12 ERA), Shane Sdao (2-0, 3.32 ERA) and Chris Cortez (4-1, 2.70 ERA). Additionally, look for Brad Rudis (1-0, 0.50 ERA) and Joshua Stewart (1-1, 2.08 ERA) to also play vital roles this weekend.

This weekend has the feel of a classic heavyweight SEC series. It should be highly contested, well-played and seems inevitable to be decided on Sunday in a decisive rubber game. I think Vanderbilt comes away with at least one win, but it is hard to not give the slight edge to Texas A&M, given its home-field advantage and impressive depth on both sides of the baseball.

How To Stream

Both Friday and Sunday’s games can be streamed on SEC Network+, while Saturday’s game will be broadcast nationally on SEC Network.

No. 19 Central Florida (21-9, 8-7 Big 12) at West Virginia (19-13, 8-4 Big 12)

The Big 12 this year has arguably been the toughest conference to figure out. Six different teams at the top of the standings are separated by just one game, while a handful of others—including UCF—are within striking distance. The Golden Knights skyrocketed inside the top 20 of this week’s Top 25 thanks to a big-time series win over Kansas State. They have won four straight Big 12 series, and are squarely in the hosting race thanks to their No. 7 RPI.

This weekend is a big one for a number of reasons for UCF. First, it is looking to bounce back from a midweek loss against in-state rival Stetson. Second, West Virginia is currently atop the Big 12 standings. A road series win over the Mountaineers would not only go a long way both in determining the Big 12 hierarchy, but would also be a huge resume boost when it comes to hosting. The Golden Knights do not have the most “prospecty” group, but they have weapons on both sides of the baseball. They feel like a bit of a throwback team in today’s day in age, as they don’t give up free bases, play excellent team defense and consistently string together quality at-bats.

Ben Vespi (2-1, 5.00 ERA) and Dominic Stagliano (2-2, 3.74 ERA) are both solid rotation arms, but the bullpen is undoubtedly the team’s biggest strength. Kyle Kramer (5-1, 2.70 ERA), Spencer Bauer (0-0, 1.93 ERA) and Chase Centala (3-0, 2.61 ERA) have all been fantastic and have routinely flashed the ability to put a stranglehold on games in the later innings. There is no doubt their services will again be needed in Morgantown if the Golden Knights want to extend their series winning streak to five.

After an impressive road sweep last weekend of Kansas, West Virginia has quietly played itself to the top of the Big 12 standings. Last weekend also saw the return of JJ Wetherholt to the lineup, who had missed an extended period of time nursing a hamstring injury. It is impossible to measure the value that Wetherholt brings to the offense. There is an argument to be made that he is the best pure hitter in the country, and he makes an already-deep lineup that much more imposing. On top of Wetherholt, Logan Sauve (.367/.472/.617)—who also recently returned to action after being banged up—Reed Chumley (.330/.421/.703) and Sam White (.328/.419/.500) have all swung the bat well.

The Mountaineers’ lineup gets a lot of love—and rightfully so—but there is also a plethora of quality arms on their pitching staff. Aidan Major (3-2, 4.02 ERA) has been a tone-setter on Friday nights and possesses thunderous stuff, while bulldog lefthander Derek Clark (3-0, 1.70 ERA) is the definition of an “innings eater.” The veteran southpaw has thrown three straight complete games and is fresh off a shutout against Kansas. He has plus command and control and consistently stays off the barrel of opposing hitters.

There are also a few reliable arms in the bullpen, but especially Maxx Yehl (3-0, 3.66 ERA), Carson Estridge (0-1, 4.22 ERA) and David Hagaman (2-3, 6.46 ERA). Don’t let the numbers on the back of the baseball card fool you with Hagaman. His stats are inflated due to a couple of rough appearances and he has the makings of a day two pick this July.

For as good as Central Florida has been this season, I think the Mountaineers keep rolling this weekend and notch a huge ranked series win. Between last weekend’s sweep of Kansas, the return of JJ Wetherholt and having home-field advantage this weekend, they have all the momentum in the world.

How To Stream

First pitch tomorrow night is at 6:30 p.m. ET and all games can be broadcast via ESPN+.

No. 17 Oregon (23-9, 8-4 Pac-12) at Southern California (16-16, 9-5 Pac-12)

In what is perhaps the most underrated series on the entire weekend slate, the Ducks fly south for a tricky road matchup against USC. Like the Big 12, the Pac-12 this year has also been tough to figure out. No. 8 Oregon State (27-4, 8-3) is without a doubt the team to beat, but it is crowded at the top of the conference standings. Five teams are jockeying for position, including Oregon and USC.

The Ducks have yet to lose a conference series, and while their schedule has not necessarily been a gauntlet, they do have a few quality series wins on their resume. They’re a balanced bunch with valuable pieces both in their lineup and on their pitching staff. Jacob Walsh—who has massive raw power—has been the team’s most productive hitter to the tune of 12 home runs and 37 RBIs, while Sacramento State transfer Jeffery Heard leads the team with a .333 average. Sprinkled within the lineup are key depth pieces, such as Drew Smith (.318/.440/.418), Anson Aroz (.314/.368/.523) and Carter Garate (.308/.434/.375). It lacks some thump outside of Walsh, but the lineup routinely turns in competitive at-bats.

The rotation trio of RJ Gordon (4-2, 4.07 ERA), Grayson Grinsell (3-2, 3.79 ERA) and Kevin Seitter (4-1, 5.02 ERA) has collectively thrown the ball well, while Bradley Mullan (4-0, 1.74 ERA) and Logan Mercado (0-0, 3.43 ERA) make for a dynamic bullpen duo.

After coming into this season with plenty of hype, almost everyone wrote off USC after its dreadful start. However, since March 16 the Trojans are 11-3 with series wins over Stanford, No. 8 Oregon State, Washington and a midweek win over No. 11 UC Irvine. Their 9-5 conference record is good enough for fourth in the standings and they are just one full game behind second-place Arizona.

Sophomore catcher Jacob Galloway (.364/.480/.568) has led the charge offensively, but Ryan Jackson (.287/.380/.426) has also enjoyed a productive season and sophomore infielder Ethan Hedges (.264/.328/.406) has really come on as of late. The Trojans’ pitching staff isn’t necessarily the most threatening in the Pac-12, but strike-thrower Caden Aoki (2-3, 4.91 ERA) has been a reliable rotation arm while Josh Blum (2-0, 3.31 ERA), Brodie Purcell (0-0, 4.30 ERA) and Fisher Johnson (3-0, 0.82 ERA) have anchored the bullpen.

Oregon is certainly the favorite this weekend, but both the landscape of the Pac-12 and USC’s resume will get a heck of a lot more interesting if the Trojans are able to pick up their third straight series victory.

How To Stream

The series gets underway tomorrow night at 8:05 p.m. ET and all games can be streamed via Oregon’s live stream.

No. 11 UC Irvine (24-5, 10-2 Big West) at UC San Diego (21-10, 8-4 Big West)

Sticking out West, No. 11 UC Irvine makes the short trip to UC San Diego for a dangerous series. The Tritons have largely flown under the national radar due to the fact that they are still in the transition period since making the jump from Division-II. This means they are not eligible to make the tournament even if they repeat as Big West champions. However, they will officially complete the transition this July and will be eligible for the field of 64 going forward.

I went in-depth on the Anteaters last week, and they have since picked up a marquee series win over UC Santa Barbara. Both Nick Pinto (7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and Brandon Luu (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) turned in quality starts, while on offense Jo Oyama led the way with five RBIs and six other hitters had multiple RBIs. Outside of potential No. 1 pick Travis Bazzana, sophomore first baseman Anthony Martinez has continued to look like the best pure hitter on the West Coast to the tune of a .364/.473/.537 slash line with four home runs and a team-leading 38 RBIs.

Both Caden Kendle (.434/.520/.646) and Woody Hadeen (.395/.514/.447) look like potential day two draft picks, while the exciting Jo Oyama (.313/.446/.571) has started to get hot at the perfect time. Pinto (6-1, 2.01 ERA) and Luu (4-0, 3.56 ERA) have been reliable rotation arms all season, but the pitching depth does not stop in the rotation. The bullpen trio of Ricky Tibbett (1-0, 3.68 ERA), Ryder Brooks (1-0, 1.56 ERA) and Ricky Ojeda (3-0, 2.45 ERA) are all arms that head coach Ben Orloff is extremely comfortable turning to in key moments.

The foundation of UC San Diego is its pitching staff. Matthew Dalquist (5-0, 3.15 ERA) and Anthony Eyanson (4-1, 2.72 ERA) have both been outstanding in the rotation, while veteran lefthander Izaak Martinez (2-1, 0.49 ERA) has been untouchable in the bullpen. On top of Martinez, a host of other arms have had strong seasons such as Spencer Seid (3-1, 3.64 ERA), Donovan Chriss (0-0, 4.32 ERA) and Julian Custer (1-1, 4.32 ERA). All are versatile in that they can either be used as a starter or in relief, and can make multiple appearances each weekend.

Like it will in every series for the rest of the regular season, UC Irvine is the favorite this weekend. For as good as UC San Diego’s pitching has been to this point, they have not had to contend with an offense that is close to the caliber of Irvine’s. I think it will be a competitive series and would not be shocked in the slightest if the Tritons steal a game, but the Anteaters right now are a runaway train.

How To Stream

The series begins tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. ET and each game can be streamed via ESPN+.

Other Notable Matchups

No. 1 Arkansas (29-3, 11-1 SEC) at No. 16 Alabama (22-11, 4-8 SEC)
N.C. State (18-12, 8-7 ACC) at No. 2 Clemson (28-4, 10-2 ACC)
LSU (22-12, 3-9 SEC) at No. 4 Tennessee (27-6, 7-5 SEC)
No. 15 Mississippi State (21-12, 6-6 SEC) at Mississippi (18-15, 3-9 SEC)
San Diego (21-10, 7-2 WCC) at Portland (20-10, 6-0 WCC)
Wright State (18-14, 8-4 Horizon League) at Northern Kentucky (20-11, 10-2 Horizon League)

Prospect Watch: Where To Watch Baseball America’s Top 10 College Prospects (listed alphabetically)

1. Travis Bazzana, Oregon State

Opponent: Stanford.

2. Chase Burns, Wake Forest (pitching on Friday)

Opponent: Boston College.

3. Jac Caglianone, Florida (pitching on Sunday)

Opponent: South Carolina.

4. Charlie Condon, Georgia

Opponent: Missouri.

5. Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina (series begins tonight)

Opponent: North Carolina.

6. Seaver King, Wake Forest

Opponent: Boston College.

7. Nick Kurtz, Wake Forest

Opponent: Boston College.

8. Braden Montgomery, Texas A&M

Opponent: Vanderbilt.

9. Hagen Smith, Arkansas (pitching on Friday)

Opponent: Alabama.

10. JJ Wetherholt, West Virginia

Opponent: Central Florida.

The post How To Watch NCAA Baseball Top 25 Teams, Best Matchups & More This Weekend: Week 9 appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

College Podcast: A Top-Five SEC Showdown, The Ever-Intriguing Big 12 And More

Teddy Cahill — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 13:11:54 +0000

Teddy Cahill and Peter Flaherty break down all the college baseball action from around the country before week nine of the season. They start in the SEC, discussing Missouri’s upset of Florida and this weekend’s top-five showdown between No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 5 Vanderbilt. They also break down all the action from the ever-intriguing Big 12, from Oklahoma State’s rivalry series win to this weekend’s showdown between UCF and West Virginia. Finally, they examine the Big East, which is having a moment this season. Could it become a multi-bid league in this year’s NCAA Tournament?

1:30: Florida
10: Kentucky
16: SEC week 9 preview
24: Vanderbilt at Texas A&M
31:11: Ad Break
32: Oklahoma State
37: UCF at West Virginia
44: Texas Tech at TCU
51:46: Ad Break
52: Wake Forest
58: ACC roundup
64: Big East
70: West Coast week 9 preview

Want more podcasts like this one? Subscribe below!

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Player FM

The post College Podcast: A Top-Five SEC Showdown, The Ever-Intriguing Big 12 And More appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

MLB Draft Prospects Chat With Carlos Collazo (4/10/24)

Carlos Collazo — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:38:10 +0000

Baseball America draft expert Carlos Collazo is answering your questions beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Have a question for Carlos? You can submit it below.

The 2024 draft cycle is getting fun. Today, Carlos examined how the race for the No. 1 overall pick is heating up thanks to recent surges from a pair of familiar faces. We’re also gearing up for new draft rankings and mock updates later this month.

Follow along here.

The post MLB Draft Prospects Chat With Carlos Collazo (4/10/24) appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament Bracket: Projected Field Of 64 (April 10)

Teddy Cahill — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:22:17 +0000

As the college baseball season passes the halfway point, the Road to Omaha is taking shape. While there’s still a lot of baseball to be played, it’s not too early to break down the postseason picture.

At this time of year, the emphasis is very much still on “projected.” This is not meant to be how the tournament would be seeded if it started tomorrow. Instead, it is meant to illustrate what it might be expected to look like on Selection Monday.

CHAT HERE

RPI, the primary metric the selection committee uses to build the field, is starting to be instructive. Teams are still capable of making big gains (or losses) but that largely now is down to extended performance trends and not one weekend series.

You can find last week’s projection here.

NCAA Baseball Bracket

PROJECTED FIELD OF 64
Fayetteville, Ark.		Conway, S.C.
1. (1) Arkansas^*		1. (16) Coastal Carolina^*
2. Kansas State		2. Georgia
3. Northeastern*		3. NC State
4. Arkansas-Little Rock*		4. Kennesaw State*

Clemson, S.C.		Terre Haute, Ind.
1. (2) Clemson^*		1. (15) Indiana State^*
2. Louisiana*		2. Nebraska*
3. San Diego		3. UC Santa Barbara
4. Niagara*		4. Northern Kentucky*

Tallahassee, Fla.		Stillwater, Okla.
1. (3) Florida State^		1. (14) Oklahoma State^
2. Alabama		2. Dallas Baptist*
3. TCU		3. LSU
4. Bethune-Cookman*		4. Grand Canyon*

College Station, Texas		Durham, N.C.
1. (4) Texas A&M^		1. (13) Duke^
2. Oklahoma		2. South Carolina
3. Lamar*		3. Texas Tech
4. Army*		4. S.C.-Upstate*

Knoxville, Tenn.		Greenville, N.C.
1. (5) Tennessee^		1. (12) East Carolina^*
2. Virginia Tech		2. Wake Forest
3. Utah		3. Texas
4. Sacred Heart*		4. VCU*

Corvallis, Ore.		Orlando
1. (6) Oregon State^*		1. (11) UCF^*
2. UC Irvine*		2. Florida
3. Portland*		3. Arizona
4. North Dakota State*		4. Fresno State*

Chapel Hill, N.C.		Nashville
1. (7) North Carolina^		1. (10) Vanderbilt^
2. Mississippi State		2. Oregon
3. St. John’s		3. Southern Miss
4. Bryant*		4. Samford*

Lexington, Ky.		Charlottesville, Va.
1. (8) Kentucky^		1. (9) Virginia^
2. Creighton*		2. West Virginia
3. Indiana		3. Maryland
4. Bowling Green State*		4. Columbia*

* denotes automatic bid
^ denotes regional host

Last Four In

Indiana
TCU
San Diego
St. John’s

First Four Out

Cincinnati
James Madison
Boston College
Georgetown

Next Four Out

Georgia Southern
Ole Miss
Campbell
Ohio State

When does the NCAA baseball bracket come out?

The full field of 64 is released on Monday, May 27 at 12 p.m. ET, an event commonly referred to as “Selection Monday.” The 2024 NCAA Tournament is set to begin later that week with regionals on Friday, May 31. That sets the path to the 2024 NCAA College World Series, which begins Friday, June 14.

Some notes about the field

If you look at this week’s Top 25 and this projection, you will notice they do not align.

Most notably, Indiana State is not ranked in the Top 25 but is listed here as the No. 15 overall seed.

The Top 25 and Projected Field of 64 have different purposes. The Top 25 is meant to rank how we view the 25 best teams in the country in the moment. The Projected Field of 64 is meant to be a projection of how the selection committee will build the NCAA Tournament two months from now. We also use different inputs. For example, the committee cares much more about RPI than we do. So, when I project Indiana State to host but we don’t rank it in the Top 25, the rationale is that we don’t think the Sycamores have produced one of the 25 best bodies of work right now but in two months time, when the selection committee evaluates their resume (which I project to include the Missouri Valley title and a top-16 RPI), the committee will award them a hosting spot. Remember, the emphasis is on projected.

There are three new hosts in this week’s projection. UCF, Indiana State and Duke all move up to the host line this week. Despite Duke being in the top 10 pretty much all season, I remain uncertain about the Blue Devils’ hosting chances. Some of that is their recent history, I’ll admit. They’ve been in the mix only to fade a couple times in the last few years. But it also has a lot to do with the metrics. Duke took a couple bad losses early that continue to haunt its RPI and its non-conference strength of schedule (232) is in a range where it might be held against Duke if it’s on the bubble. The bottom line for Duke is to keep winning ACC games. Do that and it’ll be fine.

UCF and Indiana State, meanwhile, are riding strong metrics. Neither has a ton of high-end wins but they’ve avoided bad losses and are in the mix at the top of their leagues. This is basically the same formula that the Sycamores used to host last year. Playing in the Missouri Valley, Indiana State has much less margin for error than UCF does in the Big 12 but both are in a solid spot today.

Just off the host line is Nebraska, which is 0-3 in quadrant 1 and needs to get some marquee wins somewhere in the second half of the season. Dallas Baptist, which fell off the host line, and UC Irvine are in pretty much the same spot as each other. I’d probably project all three as hosts if the tournament began tomorrow but it doesn’t and UCI and DBU have hardly any margin for error due to their poor schedule strength the rest of the season. If they hold serve throughout the second half, they might still host. But that’s too much for me to project in early April.

The Big 12 and Sun Belt merit close watching in the second half. They rank third and fourth in conference RPI and in both cases nearly the entire conference is still in the tournament picture. Both leagues will get at least a few bids and I’d expect both to produce at least one host. Only one team from either conference has a top-20 RPI today (UCF), but there’s still time for teams to push into that range and with so many strong teams in both conferences, any host contender will have plenty of opportunities to pick up impressive wins over the next couple months. I’m bullish on both leagues getting at least one host.

The post 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament Bracket: Projected Field Of 64 (April 10) appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

Nick Kurtz, JJ Wetherholt Re-Enter Race For No. 1 Pick In 2024 MLB Draft

Carlos Collazo — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 00:35:23 +0000

Charlie Condon and Travis Bazzana both made early-season surges and have used maniacal offensive production to shoot up to the top of BA’s draft board.

Others, including Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery, Florida lefthander and first baseman Jac Caglianone, Wake Forest righthander Chase Burns and Arkansas lefthander Hagen Smith are also top-of-the-class fixtures who are making the 1-1 race compelling.

This weekend only added to the muddled mix of compelling profiles at the top of a wide-open draft class when JJ Wetherholt returned to the lineup for West Virginia and Nick Kurtz went on a home run binge for Wake Forest.

The two players who entered the season in the Nos. 1 and 2 spots on the board are making their presence known once again and reminding the industry why they were so well-regarded in the first place.

Below are detailed notes on both players:

JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, West Virginia — No. 4

Wetherholt started the season as the top-ranked player in the 2024 draft class, but after the first four games of the season he missed almost two months with a hamstring injury. He returned to West Virginia’s lineup last weekend in a three-game series against Kansas, where he served as a leadoff hitter and DH.

He tallied hits in each game including a three-hit effort on Friday, and in total went 5-for-13 (.385) with a double, four walks and two strikeouts. His timing looked on the money despite his long absence from game at-bats with a number of well-hit balls up the middle, though he is not back to 100% as a runner yet—which explains his DH status and lack of full-effort runs in each game.

Below are breakdowns of all 17 of Wetherholt’s plate appearances during the weekend.

Game 1

1 — 1B. Wetherholt took a pair of 92 mph fastballs out of the zone to get into a 2-0 count. Kansas righthander Reese Dutton tried to get back in the count and put another 92-mph fastball in the zone on the outer third, and Wetherholt turned it around for a sharp ground ball single up the middle. It seemed like he was tracking the ball well out of the hand from the start.

Good to have you back, JJ!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/BoJrSny8Ds
— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) April 5, 2024

2 — 1B. His second plate appearance against Dutton started with a first-pitch slider at 83 mph that Wetherholt swung at and fouled off about halfway into the left field grass out of play. The next pitch was an 88-mph changeup (tagged a fastball, though I am pretty sure it was a changeup) a tick below middle-middle that Wetherholt again turned around for a single right back up the middle.

3 — BB. Wetherholt has a confident take on a first-pitch fastball that just misses down and in before seeing three consecutive pitches far off the plate that he didn’t need to think much about. It resulted in an easy four-pitch walk, and to this point his swing decisions have been excellent.

4 — F8. This is Wetherholt’s fourth appearance against Dutton, this time in a two-out situation with runners on first and second. Wetherholt comes up swinging against the first pitch—a middle-middle 82-mph slider—but is once again a bit too steep and under the breaking ball. It’s a reasonably well-hit fly ball despite not getting it all and is about 10-15 feet in front of the warning track in center field.

5 — F9 sac fly. His first plate appearance against a non-Dutton arm came in the seventh with one out and runners on first and third. He watches a fastball low and away to get ahead 1-0 but then takes a middle-middle 93-mph fastball for a strike to get back to 1-1. Next, he gets fooled on an 82-mph changeup below the zone but manages to check his swing. 2-1. He then fouls off a fastball up and away at 94 and takes a changeup out of the zone away to work into a full count. The next pitch is another 94 mph fastball in the same zone as previously, but he’s on time and on the barrel for this swing and drives a fly ball to right field just in front of the warning track—easily deep enough for the runner on third to score.

6 — 2B. Another clutch situation for Wetherholt in his sixth PA of the game. It’s the top of the ninth with a runner on first, two outs and the game tied at 10 in a matchup against Kansas righthander Hunter Cranton—who has the best stuff Wetherholt will see all weekend. He holds back on a first-pitch slider on the outer rail that is called a strike but could have easily gone the other way. Down 0-1, Cranton comes back with a filthy 98-mph fastball in the same location that Wetherholt decides too late to swing at and misses to get into an 0-2 count (his first of the game). He takes a ball in the dirt on the next pitch and then flicks his hands at a 98-mph fastball off the outside part of the plate and one-hops the left field wall for an RBI stand-up double. This was his most impressive hit of the weekend working from a pitcher’s count and showing his pure feel for hitting against premium velocity.

Back in front!#HailWV | @jj_wetherholt pic.twitter.com/88mVVTa5zq
— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) April 6, 2024

Game 2

1 — BB. Wetherholt got into an 0-2 count after watching a fastball for a strike and fouling off an 83-mph slider, but worked his way back with another foul ball and then four straight takes to earn a come-from-behind walk. Most of the balls in this PA were easy takes on pitches well off the zone, though ball four was a stone cold take just off the plate down and in.

2 — K. This is the first plate appearance of the weekend where Wetherholt looked uncomfortable. Kansas RHP Dominic Voegele threw a first-pitch slider on the outer rail to get ahead, then drew a check swing on a nicely spotted 80-mph changeup at the bottom of the zone and buried a slider below the zone in an 0-2 count that Wetherholt attempted to check but was unable to.

3 — 1B. Wetherholt took a breaking ball above the zone to get into a 1-0 hitter’s count and then did a nice job keeping his hands back and driving a 92-mph fastball middle-out back up the middle on a line and slightly to the shortstop side of the second base bag in center field. His balance in the lower half stood out on this swing to me.

Top 4 | Mountaineers 3, Jayhawks 0

JJ extends the lead with a rope back up the middle!#HailWV | @jj_wetherholt pic.twitter.com/A9LLkLmOB8
— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) April 6, 2024

4 — 4-3. A pair of fastballs started this AB, the first for a ball and the second for a strike. In a 1-1 count, Wetherholt was out in front and swung and missed against an 83-mph slider middle-away. Then he took a fastball down and in to get to an even 2-2 count and a similar pitch to get to 3-2. Kansas RHP Ethan Lanthier then went up and away with a 96-mph fastball, which Wetherholt rolled over on and grounded a weakly hit ball to second base. There was a brief attempt to run out of the box, but he let up about halfway down the line and jogged slowly through the bag here. It’s probably a routine ground out regardless of health, but Wetherholt is clearly not forcing the issue with his legs yet.

5 — 6-3. This is one of the quickest ABs of the weekend for Wetherholt. He jumped on a first-pitch fastball at 93 mph on the outer rail and hit a ground ball up the middle. It was better contact than his previous groundout but still a routine ground ball that was converted.

Game 3

1 — K. Game three featured a left-on-left matchup for Wetherholt, as Kansas had LHP Evan Shaw on the bump in the Sunday finale. Wetherholt got a 91-mph fastball slightly down and in on the first pitch and got under the pitch, but still hit it home-run distance the opposite way foul down the left field line. I didn’t expect that ball to travel nearly as far as it did off the bat. Down 0-1, Wetherholt had a half-hearted swing on a slider he fouled off, then had a more intentional swing on another breaking ball inside that was also pulled foul. After taking a ball low and away, Wetherholt chased a fastball off the outer rail for strike three.

2 — 4-3. Now facing another righthander, Wetherholt got behind in the count after taking a borderline changeup on the outer rail followed by a fastball in a similar spot that was also borderline and probably off the plate. Instead of being up 2-0, Wetherholt was down 0-2 and was forced to swing at a low and away 83-mph changeup that he grounded out to second base. It was not the best at-bat in the world, but I think his eye was better than the ump’s here, and he showed a willingness to expand in a two-strike count.

3 — IBB. Nothing to report here. With a runner on second and two outs in the third, Kansas just put Wetherholt on first to take the bat out of his hands and create more force-out opportunities.

4 — FC. Wetherholt again gets behind 0-1 on a borderline pitch, this time a 91-mph fastball up and in that could have gone either way. He gets a middle-middle 91-mph fastball on the next pitch that he probably wants back after fouling off to the right field side. He probably should have punished this one, especially with a runner on second and one out. Now in protect mode, Wetherholt fouls off a 92-mph heater above the zone to stay alive, takes a ball inside and then in a 1-2 count, hits a weak chopper against a 92-mph fastball right back at the pitcher. A routine groundout turns into a fielder’s choice and no outs after the pitcher makes a bad throw to third in an attempt to get the advancing runner.

5 — 1B. Another left-on-left matchup here, this time against sidearming LHP Ethan Bradford. Wetherholt gets behind 0-1 after taking a fastball for a strike, evens up the count with a ball up high and then fouls off a 92-mph fastball to the pull side. Down 1-2, Wetherholt gets a 92-mph fastball up and away that he slashes hard on the ground through the 5-6 hole for a base knock and RBI.

Top 6 | Mountaineers 10, Jayhawks 8

JJ singles home Jamison to get WVU into double-digits!#HailWV | @jj_wetherholt pic.twitter.com/CinAnyrixB
— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) April 7, 2024

6 — BB. Four straight balls in this plate appearance that weren’t particularly close to the plate—including one pitch that sailed behind him. The easiest walk of the weekend for Wetherholt here.

7 — P6. Wetherholt is started out with an 89-mph fastball down and away that he checks at, but manages to hold back on for ball one. Pitch two is another fastball that misses up and away and puts Wetherholt in the driver’s seat up 2-0. He’s hacking when he sees another fastball out of the hand, but is leaking out and a bit in front of an 89-mph heater down in the zone that he gets under and pops out to shallow left field.

In Summary

I thought Wetherholt looked extremely sharp at the plate in his first weekend back. The swing itself looks no different than usual, and he does a nice job getting on plane and making high-quality swing decisions in general. He swung at only four pitches that were clearly out of the zone and each of those swings came in counts where the pitcher was ahead. Wetherholt swung and missed just four times over the weekend (a 15% miss rate) and had no trouble at all with velocity. He did get under a few sliders—and perhaps the lone swing where he looked fooled entirely was a slider down in the dirt—but I expect him to iron that out sooner rather than later with more game reps.

With only seven games under his belt this season, Wetherholt is now hitting .346/.471/.423 with two doubles, an 11.8% strikeout rate and a 20.6% walk rate.

Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest — No. 8

I was less dialed into Kurtz over the weekend, since he has played many more games and I’ve already put eyes on him in person early this season. Even when Kurtz was not putting up numbers, I was impressed with the quality of his at-bats.

Now the numbers are coming in a big way.

He was one of the hottest hitters in college baseball last week after going 8-for-14 (.571) with six home runs and a double. In his first 12 games of the season, Kurtz was hitting just .262 with a pair of home runs, but since ACC play started on March 8, Kurtz is hitting .333/.525/.1.024 with nine home runs in 13 games.

Entering Tuesday night, he had pushed his season line to .298/.500/.738, which is much more in line with his career numbers at Wake, and if you just isolate conference games, Kurtz was hitting .314/.478/.971—good for a better OPS against conference competition than in each of his first two seasons.

He then went and homered two more times against Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, continuing his torrid pace.

We suggest an intentional walk #MTFY | #GoDeacs https://t.co/iOTdZCueH1 pic.twitter.com/soK9MRmiLj
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) April 9, 2024

Kurtz hit three home runs in Sunday’s series finale with Virginia Tech and is riding a six-game home run streak that goes back to a March 31 two-homer game against North Carolina. He didn’t cheat himself on any of those home runs over the weekend either:

Nick Kurtz’s exit metrics from all 5 home runs this weekend:
109 MPH, 432 ft
108 MPH, 401 ft
110 MPH, 376 ft
108 MPH, 395 ft
104 MPH, 395 ft
pic.twitter.com/vmvmEJT738
— Wake Forest Baseball Analytics (@Wake_Analytics) April 8, 2024

Kurtz has been homering against velocity and off-speed stuff alike, using the entire field and showing the sort of tremendous raw power that allows him to access the opposite field even when he’s not fully balanced with his lower half or mishitting a ball slightly. It’s easy plus juice paired with an advanced hitting approach that made him a legitimate 1-1 candidate to start the season.

He slipped down draft boards after the first few weeks given a lack of performance, his shoulder injury that caused him to miss a few games and the fact that players like Charlie Condon, Travis Bazzana, Jac Caglianone and Braden Montgomery have been so good out of the gate. Kurtz could still be fighting an uphill battle against that field as the only first baseman of the group, but he certainly has the hit and power combination to stack up with anyone in this class, and that’s starting to make itself obvious once again.

The post Nick Kurtz, JJ Wetherholt Re-Enter Race For No. 1 Pick In 2024 MLB Draft appeared first on College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America.

College — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America

Upsets By Alabama, NC State Highlight College Baseball’s Weekend (Off The Bat)

Eight for Omaha

Looking Ahead

College Baseball Top 25 Rankings

1. Texas A&M

2. Arkansas

3. Tennessee

4. Clemson

5. Florida State

6. Duke

7. Kentucky

8. Oregon State

9. Virginia

10. East Carolina

11. North Carolina

12. Alabama

13. Vanderbilt

14. Wake Forest

15. UC Irvine

16. Oregon

17. Oklahoma State

18. West Virginia

19. South Carolina

20. Louisiana

21. Coastal Carolina

22. NC State

23. Dallas Baptist

24. Lamar

25. Oklahoma

Charlie Condon Is Threatening A Ton Of NCAA Records

2024 MLB Mock Draft

JJ Wetherholt Is Back & Nick Kurtz Won’t Stop Hitting Home Runs

Arkansas Pitching Staff Stands Out Not Just For Quality, But Also Depth

How To Watch NCAA Baseball: Week 9

How To Watch NCAA Baseball Top 25 Teams, Best Matchups & More This Weekend: Week 9

No. 5 Vanderbilt (26-7, 8-4 SEC) at No. 3 Texas A&M (29-4, 8-4 SEC)

How To Stream

No. 19 Central Florida (21-9, 8-7 Big 12) at West Virginia (19-13, 8-4 Big 12)

How To Stream

No. 17 Oregon (23-9, 8-4 Pac-12) at Southern California (16-16, 9-5 Pac-12)

How To Stream

No. 11 UC Irvine (24-5, 10-2 Big West) at UC San Diego (21-10, 8-4 Big West)

How To Stream

Other Notable Matchups

Prospect Watch: Where To Watch Baseball America’s Top 10 College Prospects (listed alphabetically)

College Podcast: A Top-Five SEC Showdown, The Ever-Intriguing Big 12 And More

MLB Draft Prospects Chat With Carlos Collazo (4/10/24)

2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament Bracket: Projected Field Of 64 (April 10)

MLB Draft Chat

NCAA Baseball Bracket

Last Four In

First Four Out

Next Four Out

When does the NCAA baseball bracket come out?

Some notes about the field

Nick Kurtz, JJ Wetherholt Re-Enter Race For No. 1 Pick In 2024 MLB Draft

JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, West Virginia — No. 4

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

In Summary

Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest — No. 8