2021 College Top 25

Last week: 5-0
Overall: 7-0, 0-0 in SEC (3-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
State Farm College Baseball Showdown, Arlington, Texas
Feb. 22: vs. (11) Texas Christian: W 4-1
Feb. 25-28: Southeast Missouri State: W 6-5 (10), W 7-3, W 9-3, W 11-4
Upcoming:
March 5-7: Murray State

Arkansas began the week by finishing off a 3-0 showing in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown before sweeping a four-game home series with Southeast Missouri State. After getting pushed to 10 innings in the opener, which was won on a walk-off infield single from shortstop Jalen Battles, Arkansas didn’t have too much trouble pulling off the sweep. Righthander Peyton Pallette is making a name for himself this season already, as he threw five more shutout frames on Saturday, giving up three hits and one walk with eight strikeouts. He now has a 0.00 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 9.1 innings for the season. Other than Pallette’s start, the Arkansas starting pitchers all had rocky starts, but were largely bailed out by a bullpen that has, on balance, been a strength this season. This weekend, two former rotation members shined out of the bullpen. In the first game of the series, lefthander Patrick Wicklander threw four scoreless innings of relief. In game 2, righthander Connor Noland came on early in the game and allowed just one unearned run in 4.2 innings. Battles had six hits over the weekend, including the winner on Thursday, to lead a Razorbacks offense that also saw the return of DH Matt Goodheart this weekend after he missed the first five games of the season.

Last week: 4-1
Overall: 5-2, 0-0 in SEC (2-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
State Farm College Baseball Showdown, Arlington, Texas
Feb. 22: vs. (13) Texas Tech: W 11-5
Feb. 24: Jackson State: W 7-3
Feb. 26-28: Tulane: L 7-3, W 9-5, W 5-4
Upcoming:
March 2: vs. Southern Miss (Pearl, Miss.)
March 5-7: Tennessee Tech

Mississippi State completed a winning weekend by beating Texas Tech on Monday in its final game of the State Farm College Baseball Showdown and then followed that up with an airtight series win over Tulane. After taking a 7-3 loss on Friday when the lineup struggled to solve Tulane starter Braden Olthoff, MSU won two wild games in walk-off fashion to finish the weekend. In Saturday’s victory, the Bulldogs trailed 5-3 going to the bottom of the ninth. They tied it up on a two-RBI single by catcher Logan Tanner and then put it in the win column thanks to a grand slam by DH Luke Hancock. The Sunday game featured a huge swing of emotions. Leading 3-2 going to the ninth, MSU gave up the lead in the top half of the inning on a two-run homer by Tulane’s Luis Aviles. In the bottom half, it answered back by winning it on a two-run single off the bat of right fielder Tanner Allen. In his return to action in the second game, righthander Eric Cerantola struggled with command, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks in 2.1 innings, but he came in firing bullets up to 100 mph. To help keep the game close after Cerantola’s struggles, Landon Sims came on in relief and was once again dominant, striking out 10 in 3.2 innings. In 7.2 innings this season, Sims has allowed one run on three hits with two walks and 20 strikeouts.

Last week: 6-1
Overall: 6-1, 0-0 in SEC (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 22: Wright State: W 14-1, W 1-0
Feb. 24: Western Kentucky: W 12-1
Feb. 26-28: Georgia State: L 4-2, W 5-4, W 12-2, W 17-6
Upcoming:
March 5-7: Illinois-Chicago

It was a busy week for Vanderbilt, with seven games played, and with the exception of a hiccup to begin its series with Georgia State, it handled it well. Righthanders Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter both started games on Monday against Wright State and Sunday against Georgia State. Rocker combined to throw nine scoreless innings, giving up four hits with six walks and 14 strikeouts. Leiter threw 10 scoreless innings, giving up four hits with four walks and 15 strikeouts. The offense really came alive against the back half of the GSU pitching staff, combining for 29 runs on 24 hits in the Sunday doubleheader. DH Parker Noland paced the lineup in the first half of the doubleheader, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and a home run. Catcher Maxwell Romero was the star of the second game on Sunday, going 3-for-3 with a double, two home runs and seven RBIs. The Commodores get a well-earned midweek off before welcoming in Illinois-Chicago this weekend to get back on a normal schedule.

Last week: 3-1
Overall: 6-1, 0-0 in ACC (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 23: Eastern Kentucky: W 6-2
Feb. 26-28: Western Illinois: L 8-3, W 4-1, W 9-4
Upcoming:
March 2: Morehead State
March 5-7: @ (14) Georgia Tech

Louisville on Friday took a shocking loss, getting outhit by Western Illinois 15-5 and committing three errors on the way to an 8-3 defeat, which marked the first win for the Leathernecks since May 18, 2019. In a Saturday doubleheader to wrap up the series, Louisville still got a good test from WIU, but was able to walk away with two wins and the series win. Third baseman Lucas Dunn had a big game in the 4-1 win, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. The Cardinals were able to breathe a little bit easier in the series finale, as they put up five runs in the third inning and never looked back. Freshman righthander Kaleb Corbett was excellent out of the bullpen in the third game, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk with seven strikeouts. Louisville will certainly have to take a step forward to win its series at Georgia Tech.

Last week: 3-2
Overall: 5-2, 0-0 in SEC (3-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-1
Results:
State Farm College Baseball Showdown, Arlington, Texas
Feb. 22: vs. (18) Texas: W 8-1
Feb. 24: Arkansas State: W 12-1
Feb. 26-28: Central Florida: L 3-2, W 6-5, L 7-2
Upcoming:
March 2: Memphis
March 3: Jackson State
March 5-7: Belmont

It has been a roller coaster of a couple of weeks for Ole Miss. After going 3-0 against tough competition the first weekend of the season, it dropped a series last weekend at home against a UCF team that limped into the weekend having given up 45 runs in a 1-3 start against Florida Atlantic and Stetson. Offense was the biggest issue for the Rebels, with two runs scoring on seven hits in each of the two losses to UCF, and missing second baseman Peyton Chatagnier due to injury certainly didn’t help. The lineup particularly struggled in the second half of a doubleheader on Saturday, when they struck out 10 times in six innings against righthander A.J. Jones, and the team average dipped to .249 for the season. The positive of the weekend was that it could easily have been a sweep. In the middle game of the series, the Rebels went into the bottom of the ninth trailing 5-3, but rallied back to score three runs and walk off with a win thanks to a Tim Elko RBI single. A five-game week, capped by a series against Belmont, gives Ole Miss a chance to right the ship quickly.

Last week: 1-2
Overall: 3-3, 1-2 in ACC (2-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-1
Results:
Feb. 26-28: Virginia Tech: L 5-3, W 3-0, L 9-6
Upcoming:
March 5-7: @ North Carolina State

Flying high after the series win at Florida to begin the season, Miami came back down to earth with a series loss to Virginia Tech, which is the first time the Hokies have won a road series against the Hurricanes. The issues were different in the two losses. In the Friday defeat, the UM offense scored three runs in the first three innings, but then managed just three hits the rest of the way. In the finale, starting pitcher Victor Mederos got touched up for four runs in 5.2 innings, and while the lineup was able to claw the Canes back into the game in the middle innings, the bullpen struggled to hold the VT lineup at bay. In the UM win in the middle game, freshman starter Alejandro Rosario was excellent, throwing seven shutout innings, giving up three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. A road series this weekend against a North Carolina State team also looking to bounce back won’t be easy.

Last week: 5-0
Overall: 6-2, 0-0 in SEC (1-2 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-1
Results:
Feb. 23: @ North Florida: W 9-6
Feb. 24: North Florida: W 8-3
Feb. 26-28: Samford: W 8-4, W 18-2, W 10-9
Upcoming:
March 3: Florida Atlantic
March 5-7: Florida A&M

The Gators got just what they needed with a 5-0 week that included a sweep of Samford. Righthander Tommy Mace gave a vintage performance in the series opener, throwing six scoreless innings, giving up three hits and no walks with a career-high 11 strikeouts. Game 2 of the series brought an easy 18-2 UF win, with the lineup collecting 12 hits and taking advantage of nine walks and five hit batters by the Samford pitching staff. Catcher Nathan Hickey hit a grand slam and drove in six runs in that one. The Bulldogs fought hard in the final game of the series. They held an 8-6 lead going to the bottom of the eighth, and then came back to tie it in the top of the ninth after the Gators had scored three in the bottom of the eighth, but ultimately Florida walked off with a 10-9 win thanks to a Jacob Young RBI single. After really struggling against Miami, Jud Fabian had a nice offensive weekend against Samford, going 4-for-12 with two home runs and six RBIs. One thing to continue to monitor with Florida moving forward is the performance of lefthander Hunter Barco. One week after giving up eight runs in 3.1 innings against Miami, he gave up five in five innings against Samford (although he also struck out 11 batters) and now has an 11.88 ERA.

Last week: 2-2
Overall: 4-3, 1-2 in ACC (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-1
Results:
Feb. 23: Virginia Military Institute: W 14-5
Feb. 25-28: @ North Carolina: L 3-2, L 2-1, W 3-2
Upcoming:
March 2: George Washington
March 5-7: @ Florida State

Series don’t get much tighter than the one Virginia played at North Carolina, and this series was somehow even tighter than those scores suggest. In game 1, trailing 3-2 in the ninth, the Cavaliers’ Zack Gelof gave a ball a ride to deep center field, only to have him robbed of a potential game-tying home run by center fielder Justice Thompson. In game 2, Virginia trailed 2-1 for the entirety of the second half of the game, and even got the tying run into scoring position a couple of times, but couldn’t break through. The good news in those two losses is that the Cavaliers pitched well. Lefthander Andrew Abbott gave up three runs in seven innings in the opener, and righthander Griff McGarry gave up just one earned run with nine strikeouts in five innings in the second game. Better still, the Cavaliers fought back on Sunday and salvaged a game in the series behind yet another well-pitched game, this time by righthander Mike Vasil, who threw six scoreless innings, giving up four hits and no walks with five strikeouts. It’s no secret that offensive production has been the biggest challenge, and the numbers back that up. Virginia had just 17 hits in 27 innings over the weekend. A series next weekend at Florida State will be a battle of two teams looking to get the ship righted after tough series losses.

Last week: 3-1
Overall: 4-3, 0-0 in Pac-12 (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-1
Results:
Feb. 23: Loyola Marymount: W 5-2
Feb. 26-28: vs./@ UC Irvine: W 4-3, L 7-3, W 4-0
Upcoming:
March 2: Cal State Fullerton
Southern California College Baseball Classic
March 5: Pepperdine
March 6: Cal State Fullerton
March 7: Southern California

It still doesn’t feel like UCLA is operating at full capacity, and the Saturday loss to UC Irvine, which included righthander Jesse Bergin lasting just three innings in his start, is evidence of that. But with that said, the Bruins deserve some credit for fighting for a series win over UCI as part of a 3-1 week. UCLA walked off with a victory on Friday. Down 3-1 going to the bottom of the seventh, it scored two runs in that frame to tie it then walked off with a win thanks to a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth. He did start the game, but righthander Zach Pettway returned in the Friday game, throwing a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. In the Sunday shutout, four UCLA pitchers held the Anteaters to just four hits, led by righthander Nick Nastrini, who threw six innings, giving up just one hit. The UCLA lineup is still struggling overall with a .218 team batting average, but shortstop Matt McLain continues to produce. So far this season, he’s hitting .304/.484/.522.

Last week: 4-1
Overall: 5-2, 0-0 in Big 12 (1-2 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-1
Results:
State Farm College Baseball Showdown, Arlington, Texas
Feb. 22: vs. (6) Arkansas: L 4-1
Feb. 23: Texas Southern: W 20-0
Feb. 26-28: Liberty: W 4-1, W 9-2, W 12-2
Upcoming:
March 2: Stephen F. Austin
Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic, Houston
March 5: vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
March 6: vs. Texas State
March 7: vs. Sam Houston State

TCU bounced back from a 1-2 showing in the State Farm College Baseball Classic by sweeping Liberty in three games by a combined 25-5 score. The Frogs got great bullpen work in each of the first two victories. On Friday, veteran lefthander Haylen Green tossed the final 4.1 innings, giving up one hit and no walks with four strikeouts, helping the team hang on to the 4-1 lead they grabbed in the fifth. In game 1 of a Saturday doubleheader, righthander Charles King came on early after lefthander Russell Smith lasted just three innings, but he took it home from there. He threw six innings, giving up three hits and one run with no walks and five strikeouts. While the bullpen was plenty good in the second game of the doubleheader, with three relievers each throwing a scoreless inning, lefthander Austin Krob didn’t need too much help, as he threw six innings, giving up six hits and two runs while the Frogs’ lineup did heavy lifting. Third baseman Brayden Taylor hit his first career home run, a three-run shot, and center fielder Phillip Sikes and catcher Kurtis Byrne also drove in three runs.

Last week: 3-1
Overall: 3-3, 0-0 in Big 12 (0-3 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-1
Results:
State Farm College Baseball Showdown, Arlington, Texas
Feb. 22: vs. (8) Mississippi State: L 11-5
Feb. 26-28: Houston Baptist: W 18-3 (7), W 8-1, W 11-2
Upcoming:
March 2-3: Texas Southern
Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic, Houston
March 5: vs. Texas State
March 6: vs. Sam Houston State
March 7: vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

After a tough 0-3 showing in Arlington, Texas Tech came home and reset with a routine sweep of Houston Baptist by a combined 37-6 score. In the 18-3 win to start the series, the Red Raiders hit six home runs, including two by second baseman Jace Jung. Lefthander Patrick Monteverde, for the second weekend in a row, was Tech’s most effective starting pitcher. This time, he threw seven scoreless innings, giving up two hits and no walks with nine strikeouts. Nate Rombach got going in a big way against the Huskies. He went 6-for-10 with two home runs and seven RBIs. That brought his line up to .421/.500/1.000 for the season.

Last week: 5-0
Overall: 6-1, 0-0 in SEC (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 22: Louisiana Tech: W 16-7
Feb. 24: @ Louisiana-Lafayette: W 11-2
Feb. 26-27: Youngstown State: W 6-2, W 5-3
Feb. 27: Nicholls State: W 14-0
Upcoming:
March 2: Nicholls State
March 3: Southern
March 5-7: Oral Roberts

Outside of falling behind early against Louisiana Tech on Monday, Louisiana State made relatively routine work of the rest of its week, going 5-0. Righthander Jaden Hill set the tone in the opening win against Youngstown State, throwing six scoreless innings, giving up one hit and no walks with four strikeouts. He was arguably outdone by fellow righthander Landon Marceaux in the win against Nicholls. He threw six scoreless innings of his own, giving up two hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts. Neither of those two starters have given up an earned run this season. Right fielder Dylan Crews continued his hot-hitting ways. He went 4-for-10 over the weekend, including a home run against Nicholls, and he now has at least one hit in all seven of his games as a Tiger. More broadly, it was a big weekend for LSU home runs. There were nine of them, including one for second baseman Cade Doughty in each of the two games against YSU and two for shortstop Drew Bianco in the game against Nicholls.

Last week: 3-0
Overall: 6-0, 0-0 in SEC (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 23: Winthrop: W 12-4
Feb. 27-28: vs. Clemson: W 3-2 (11), W 8-7
Upcoming:
March 2: @ Winthrop
March 5-7: Mercer

As expected, South Carolina got a stiff test from rival Clemson over the weekend, but the Gamecocks proved their mettle by pulling both games out in walk-off fashion. After Friday’s game was postponed to later this season due to rain, the two teams put together a classic on Saturday, going to the 11th inning tied, 2-2. In the top of the 11th, Clemson put two men on to start the inning, but Gamecocks reliever Will Sanders came on and got a double play ball from James Parker to record two outs then got a groundout from Jonathan French to strand a runner at third. In the bottom half, left fielder Andrew Eyster clubbed a line drive over the head of a drawn-in outfield to bring home the winning run. The finale was a bit wilder, with the teams trading blows all the way through to the ninth inning, when, you guessed it, Eyster made the Gamecocks a winner on a walk-off RBI single. Righthander Thomas Farr gave South Carolina the best start of the weekend by throwing six innings on Saturday, giving up five hits and one run with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Last week: 4-0
Overall: 6-1, 3-0 in ACC (3-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 24: Mercer: W 7-3
Feb. 26-28: @ (16) North Carolina State: W 9-2, W 8-3, W 8-4
Upcoming:
March 2: Georgia State
March 5-7: (4) Louisville

Georgia Tech made a loud statement over the weekend, hitting the road and sweeping a series against North Carolina State, which also doubled as its 11th straight ACC series win, dating back to March 8-10, 2019. Along the way, the lineup showed just how lethal it can be when it gets going. The best example was in the second game of a Saturday doubleheader, when Georgia Tech turned a 3-3 game into an 8-3 game in the blink of an eye with a five-run seventh that included back-to-back-to-back home runs from shortstop Luke Waddell, which was a three-run shot, third baseman Justyn-Henry Malloy and catcher Kevin Parada. Parada has been every bit the difference maker offensively that the coaching staff hoped he would be. He leads the team in hitting at .524 and went 6-for-12 against the Wolfpack. Lefthander Brant Hurter is also a big reason for optimism coming out of the weekend. In the series opener, he threw six innings, giving up two hits and one unearned run with no walks and six strikeouts. Another big test comes this weekend, with Louisville heading to Atlanta.

Last week: 4-0
Overall: 6-1, 0-0 in Big West (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 26-28: @/vs. Pepperdine: W 7-6, W 9-7, W 5-0, W 12-2
Upcoming:
March 5-7: Oregon

Although it won all four games against Pepperdine, it was two different series for UC Santa Barbara. It won the first two games ugly as we waited to see the kind of starting pitching we expected out of a team that should be one of the better pitching teams on the West Coast. Over the last two games, it got excellent pitching, while the offense continued to operate at the same high level as when it was helping bail out the pitching staff. In the 5-0 win, the Gauchos held the Waves to just one hit. Lefthander Rodney Boone threw six hitless innings, with righthander Ryan Harvey giving up one hit in three innings of relief. In the finale, righthander Cory Lewis threw five shutout innings, giving up three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts. Second baseman Marcos Castanon continues to lead the way offensively, just as he did last season. After going 7-for-16 with two home runs over the weekend, he’s hitting .462/.576/.769.

Last week: 3-1
Overall: 5-1, 2-1 in ACC (2-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 23: Radford: W 22-2
Feb. 26-28: @ (3) Miami: W 5-3, L 3-0, W 9-6
Upcoming:
March 5-7: (17) North Carolina

Virginia Tech finds itself ranked for the first time since 2013 after it won a series at Miami for the first time in program history. The bullpen played a big role in the series-opening win after Miami scored three runs early on. Lefthanders Matthew Siverling (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K) and Shane Connolly (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K) combined to hold the Hurricanes off while the offense made the most out of a relatively modest six-hit effort at the plate. On Sunday, the Hokies showed resilience in winning a roller coaster affair. Trailing 6-4 going to the seventh, VT scored three in the seventh inning to take the lead and then added insurance runs in the eighth on a two-run homer off the bat of right fielder Gavin Cross. A series at home this weekend against North Carolina will be a battle between two teams looking to prove that they’re real contenders in the ACC this season.

Last week: 3-1
Overall: 6-1, 2-1 in ACC (2-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 23: vs. Elon: W 4-1
Feb. 26-28: vs. (2) Virginia: W 3-2, W 2-1, L 3-2
Upcoming:
March 5-7: @ (16) Virginia Tech

North Carolina made a huge statement last week with a series win at home against then-No. 2 Virginia. Excellent pitching was the key to the weekend for the Tar Heels. Righthander Austin Love dominated on Friday night in a 3-2 win, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and ended the game with 7.1 innings, giving up three hits and two runs with two walks and six strikeouts. In game 2, righthanders Max Carlson (5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K) and Nik Pry (3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K) combined to hold down the Virginia offense for a second game in a row. And even in the game 3 loss, UNC did a nice job on the mound, with righthander Joey Lancellotti pitching extremely well in relief, throwing four scoreless frames with six strikeouts. The weekend wasn’t an offensive explosion for the Tar Heels, but center fielder Justice Thompson really stuck out, going 6-for-10. On the season, he’s hitting .520/.586/.920.

Last week: 2-1
Overall: 5-1, 2-1 in ACC (2-1 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 26-28: @ (11) Duke: W 10-6, L 10-3, W 5-2
Upcoming:
March 5-7: @ Wake Forest

In winning a series on the road against Duke last weekend, perhaps we saw a big step toward Boston College living up to the potential that it needs in order to be a postseason team in 2021. In a game that was suspended on Friday and resumed Saturday afternoon, the Eagles won a back-and-forth offensive game, 10-6. Trailing 6-5 going to the eighth, BC tied the game on a Jack Cunningham RBI double and then took a lead on a two-RBI double by Luke Gold before tacking on two insurance runs in the ninth. The Eagles won the game in a different way, with pitching, on Sunday. Righthander Emmet Sheehan gave up six hits and two runs in six innings, followed by great relief work from righthander Alex Stiegler, who struck out five batters in three scoreless innings of work. As if winning the series weren’t enough, it speaks highly of BC’s potential that the only game it lost to Duke was the game started by ace Mason Pelio. That probably won’t happen all too often moving forward as Pelio rounds into form.

Last week: 3-1
Overall: 6-1, 0-0 in AAC (1-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 23: (12) Duke: W 6-1
Feb. 26-28: @ Georgia Southern: W 6-4, L 10-7, W 9-2
Upcoming:
March 3: Old Dominion
March 5-7: Appalachian State

After a nice midweek win against Duke, East Carolina won its series with Georgia Southern on the road, although the Eagles, as they did against Tennessee the weekend prior, gave the Pirates a tough challenge. On Friday, after starter Tyler Smith departed with just four innings pitched, ECU patched together the remaining five innings by using seven different relievers while the lineup worked to keep GSU at an arm’s length. The Sunday win was more comfortable, with the Pirates scoring in six different innings and the pitching staff holding the Eagles scoreless until they pushed two runs across in the ninth. Lefthander Carson Whisenhunt was quite good in that one, as he threw 6.2 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts. Second baseman Connor Norby continues to be a catalyst in the lineup. He had six more hits over the weekend and came out of the series hitting .483/.516/.690. To this point of the season, ECU has used 18 different pitchers, so it is still clearly in the process of figuring who it can lean on in that regard, and that will be something to watch moving forward.

Last week: 3-2
Overall: 3-4, 0-0 in Big 12 (0-3 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-1
Results:
State Farm College Baseball Showdown, Arlington, Texas
Feb. 22: (1) Mississippi: L 8-1
Feb. 24-27: Brigham Young: W 3-1, W 12-6, W 11-1, L 5-4
Upcoming:
March 2: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
March 3: @ Texas State
March 5-7: @ Houston

After taking some lumps in Arlington the first weekend of the season, Texas looked much more like the team we expected to see in the preseason and got a much-needed series win over Brigham Young at home. The Cougars have a talented pitching staff, so it should be taken as a very good sign for the Texas offense that it scored 23 runs combined in the second and third games of the series, even if the team batting average is still just .225 on the season. First baseman Zach Zubia went 3-for-4 in the game 2 win and then hustled around for a three-run inside-the-park home run in the first inning of game 3. Third baseman Cam Williams also continued to be a catalyst in the lineup, going 5-for-12 with seven RBIs. In addition to scoring 11 runs in that third game, the Longhorns also got a great start from righthander Ty Madden, who gave up just one hit and struck out 11 in 7.1 shutout innings. Freshman righthander Tanner Witt was a big bright spot over the weekend as well. After getting the save in the series opener, he threw 3.1 perfect innings in the finale. For the season, he’s now thrown six scoreless innings.

Last week: 0-0
Overall: 0-0, 0-0 in Big Ten (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 0-0
Results:
Idle
Upcoming:
March 6-8: vs. Iowa (Round Rock, Texas)

After a lengthy wait, Michigan will get its season underway this weekend against Iowa in Round Rock, Texas.

Last week: 4-2
Overall: 7-2, 0-0 in SEC (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-0-1
Results:
Feb. 23-24: Arkansas-Pine Bluff: W 21-1, W 14-6
Feb. 26-28: Indiana State: W 4-3, L 3-1, L 7-5, W 6-5 (11)
Upcoming:
March 3: Dayton
March 5-7: Georgia State

Tennessee is probably happy enough to see Indiana State head out of town that it might have fueled up its bus as a parting gift. The Volunteers beat the Sycamores by a run in game 1, lost both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday and then needed 11 innings to shake them on Sunday. The wins were marked by excellent bullpen work on Friday, after starter Chad Dallas gave up three runs on nine hits in five innings, righthander Sean Hunley came on and threw four perfect innings. On Sunday, starter Jackson Leath left after two-thirds of an inning after he appeared to suffer a hamstring injury, so the combination of Hunley, who gave up two hits and two runs in 5.2 innings, and lefthander Redmond Walsh, who gave up three unearned runs in 4.2 innings, had to do heavy lifting. The pair wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but they did well considering the circumstances. At 7-2, Tennessee is off to a pretty good start, and that’s really all that matters, but it has required some late-inning comebacks and high-wire acts to win games the last two weekends, and it doesn’t seem to have started clicking on all cylinders yet.

Last week: 4-1
Overall: 7-1, 0-0 in SEC (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 2-0
Results:
Feb. 23: @ Jacksonville State: W 5-2
Feb. 24: Tennessee-Martin: L 9-4
Feb. 26-28: Wright State: W 8-4, W 8-7 (11), W 1-0 (7)
Upcoming:
March 2: @ Alabama-Birmingham
March 3: Troy
March 5-7: @ College of Charleston

Even without the services of lefthander Connor Prielipp, who missed the series with an unspecified health issue, Alabama took care of business in a hard-fought sweep of Wright State, which pushed the Tide all weekend long. In Prielipp’s place, righthander Tyler Ras was great on Friday, throwing six innings, giving up one hit and one run with two walks and five strikeouts. Home runs by second baseman Peyton Wilson, third baseman Zane Denton and left fielder T.J. Reeves supported him. Game 2 went to extra innings, with the Tide walking off with a win in the 11th on a William Hamiter RBI single. In the seven-inning finale, righthander Dylan Smith stepped up and threw 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and three walks with seven strikeouts, while the only run came home on a sixth-inning RBI double off the bat of catcher Sam Praytor.

Last week: 5-0
Overall: 6-2, 0-0 in Pac-12 (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-1
Results:
Feb. 22: Ball State: W 11-5
Feb. 25-28: Southeastern Louisiana: W 7-4, W 13-11, W 4-3, W 14-2
Upcoming:
Frisco Classic, Frisco, Texas
March 4-5: vs. (25) Oklahoma
March 6: vs. Dallas Baptist
March 7: vs. Missouri

It wasn’t always easy or pretty, but Arizona took care of business and swept Southeastern Louisiana in four games last weekend. Starting pitching was hit or miss. In the opener, righthander Chase Silseth held the Lions scoreless through five innings before hitting a speed bump and allowing four runs in the sixth, which made what was a comfortable win for the Wildcats look closer than it might have been. Silseth ended up striking out 10 in 6.2 innings. Righthander Chandler Murphy got hit around to the tune of nine hits and five runs in six innings, but only three of the runs were earned and the lineup did enough damage to hold the lead. And after lefthander Garrett Irvin lasted just three innings as the starter in the third game, righty T.J. Nichols turned in the best start of the weekend in the finale, throwing six innings, giving up three hits and one run with two walks and six strikeouts. The lineup was consistently good, collecting double-digit hits in each of the four games, with first baseman Branden Boissiere leading the way. He went 10-for-15 on the weekend with a double, two home runs, seven RBI and 10 runs scored.

Last week: 4-2
Overall: 4-3, 0-0 in Big 12 (0-0 vs. Top 25)
Weekend Record: 1-0-1
Results:
Feb. 22: Nebraska-Omaha: W 8-5
Feb. 23: vs. Stephen F. Austin (Arlington, Texas): L 9-5
Feb. 24: vs. Texas-Arlington (Arlington, Texas): W 7-1
Round Rock Classic, Round Rock, Texas
Feb. 26: vs. Auburn: W 4-3 (10)
Feb. 27: vs. Texas A&M: L 8-1
Feb. 28: vs. Baylor: W 9-3
Upcoming:
Frisco Classic, Frisco, Texas
March 4-5: vs. (24) Arizona
March 6: vs. Missouri
March 7: vs. Dallas Baptist

Oklahoma had a busy week as it tried to get games under its belt after a rash of cancellations over the first weekend of the season. There were bumps in the road, like a midweek loss to Stephen F. Austin and a blowout loss to Texas A&M, but it was a successful week overall. Friday’s win over Auburn on the first day of the Round Rock Classic came in dramatic fashion. The Sooners lineup was silent for much of the game and they trailed 3-1 going to the bottom of the eighth. Then, they pushed a run across in the eighth on a Diego Muniz RBI single, scored another to tie it in the ninth on a Tyler Hardman sac fly and then won it in the bottom of the 10th on a Hardman single. OU finished the weekend with a comfortable win over Baylor that had to feel good as a capper on a full week. The lineup scored nine runs, a season high, on 14 hits, led by third baseman Brett Squires, who went 3-for-5 with three RBI. After a rocky start, perhaps the Sooners are ready to head in the right direction in earnest.