What To Watch For This Weekend In College Baseball (4/14)

Image credit: LSU first baseman Tre' Morgan (Photo courtesy of LSU)

Top 25 Schedule

Rank	Team	Opponents (Fri., Sat., Sun.)	TV
1	Tennessee	Alabama	SEC Network+
2	Miami	at Virginia Tech (Thurs.-Sat.)	ACC Network Extra (Thurs., Fri.)
3	Oklahoma State	at West Virginia	ESPN+
4	Texas Tech	at Texas Christian (Thurs.-Sat.)	ESPN+
5	Oregon State	Long Beach State (Thurs.-Sat.)	Pac-12 Network+
6	Virginia	at Pittsburgh	ACC Network Extra (Fri., Sat.), ACC Network (Sun.)
7	Arkansas	(24) Louisiana State (Thurs.-Sat.)	SEC Network+ (Thurs., Sat.), SEC Network (Fri.)
8	Texas	at Kansas State (Thurs.-Sat.)	ESPN+
9	Louisville	at (19) Florida State (Thurs.-Sat.)	ACC Network Extra
10	Notre Dame	at Duke (Thurs.-Sat.)	ACC Network Extra
11	Stanford	at (13) UCLA (Thurs.-Sat.)	Pac-12 Network (Thurs., Sat.), ESPN2 (Fri.)
12	Georgia	Texas A&M (Thurs.-Sat.)	SEC Network+
13	UCLA	(11) Stanford (Thurs.-Sat.)	Pac-12 Network (Thurs., Sat.), ESPN2 (Fri.)
14	Southern Mississippi	at Florida International (Thurs.-Sat.)	None
15	Gonzaga	Portland (Thurs.-Sat.)	KHQ.com (Thurs.)
16	Arizona	at Utah (Thurs.-Sat.)	Pac-12 Network+
17	Auburn	at Mississippi State (Thurs.-Sat.)	SEC Network (Thurs.), SEC Network+ (Fri., Sat.)
18	Texas State	at Texas-Arlington (Thurs.-Sat.)	None
19	Florida State	(9) Louisville (Thurs.-Sat.)	ACC Network Extra
20	Dallas Baptist	at Bradley (Thurs.-Sat.)	ESPN+ (Thurs., Sat.)
21	Oregon	at Washington (Thurs.-Sat.)	Pac-12 Network+
22	Maryland	Ohio State	BTN+
23	Wake Forest	Clemson	ACC Network (Fri.), ACC Network Extra (Sat., Sun.)
24	Louisiana State	at (7) Arkansas (Thurs.-Sat.)	SEC Network+ (Thurs., Sat.), SEC Network (Fri.)
25	Wofford	East Tennessee State (Thurs.-Sat.)	ESPN+ (Thurs., Fri.)

What To Watch

(3) Oklahoma State at West Virginia
Stream on ESPN+.

The early stages of the Big 12 title race have been highly entertaining, and this weekend looks to be more of the same. Oklahoma State (24-9, 7-2) is tied with Texas Tech atop the standings with West Virginia (21-10, 5-1) just a half game behind. The Mountaineers have been the conference’s early surprise, as they have series wins against Texas Christian and Baylor to open Big 12 play. Keeping that run going this weekend would be a massive statement and they will have home-field advantage at Monogalia County Ballpark, where they are 10-1 this season. Runs may be at a premium this weekend. Oklahoma State (4.01) and West Virginia (4.30) rank second and third in the Big 12 in team ERA, trailing only Texas.

(24) Louisiana State at (7) Arkansas
Stream on SEC Network+ on Thursday and Saturday. Watch on SEC Network on Friday.

Arkansas (25-7, 8-4) holds a narrow, one-game advantage in the SEC West on a trio of teams, including LSU (23-9, 7-5). The Razorbacks are coming off a series loss at Florida, their first of the season, and will be eager to get back to the friendly confines of Baum-Walker Stadium, where they are 20-3 this spring. LSU, meanwhile, has played well on the road of late, winning their own series at Florida and last weekend sweeping Mississippi State in Starkville. Look for the ball to fly this weekend in Fayetteville, as the two teams have combined for 106 home runs in 64 games this season. Between the two teams, only LSU third baseman Jacob Berry has hit 10 home runs, but every player in both lineups has the ability to drive the ball out in any given at-bat.

(9) Louisville at (19) Florida State
Stream on ACC Network Extra.

A big ACC Atlantic Division showdown comes to Tallahassee. Louisville (24-8, 9-3) is in first place in the division and has a big opportunity this weekend to bolster its resume to host regionals. A road series win would be a big addition, as the Cardinals are 6-4 away from Jim Patterson Stadium and have just one road series win. Florida State (19-13, 7-8) is coming off back-to-back ACC series losses after winning their first six series of the year. The Seminoles seemed to break their funk Tuesday with a 5-0 victory against rival Florida and will be eager to carry that momentum into the weekend. The series is likely to hinge on the matchup of Florida State’s rotation and Louisville’s lineup. The Cardinals are averaging 10 runs per game, the most in the nation. The Seminoles lefthanders Parker Messick, Bryce Hubbart and Ross Dunn have the potential to be among the best in the country, but are coming off a tough weekend at Georgia Tech. They’ll have to bounce back if the Seminoles are going to spring the upset.

(11) Stanford at (13) UCLA
Watch on Pac-12 Network on Thursday and Saturday and ESPN2 on Friday.

The Pac-12 title race has gotten bunched up at the mid-point, with the top five teams in the standings within 1.5 games of each other. So, any time those teams play each other the rest of the season, the matchup will carry extra weight and that’s what will happen this weekend in Westwood. After a slip at the start of conference play, Stanford (18-10, 9-6) has gotten hot and has won nine of its last 11 games. UCLA (23-9, 8-4) is also rolling, having won 12 of its last 14 games. This weekend is a matchup between the two best pitching staffs in the Pac-12, as the Bruins lead the conference with a 2.84 team ERA and the Cardinal rank second at 3.88. A Thursday night matchup between UCLA righthander Jake Brooks (5-2, 2.70) and Stanford righthander Alex Williams (3-1, 2.79) promises to be one of the best pitched games of the weekend. To add to the weekend, UCLA will on Friday be commemorating Jackie Robinson Day, the anniversary of the Bruins alumnus breaking MLB’s color barrier.

Georgia State at Georgia Southern
Stream on ESPN+.

This rivalry series takes on added meaning this year thanks to both teams’ status as Sun Belt title contenders and potential regional teams. Georgia State (22-10, 10-2) comes into the weekend in first place in the conference standings, two games ahead of Georgia Southern (21-11, 8-4). The Eagles, however, hold the edge in RPI (No. 17 vs. 25) and are coming off a statement series win at Texas State, which has perhaps the best resume in the league. No matter how you slice it, these are two of the top teams in the conference and both teams have regional aspirations. The Panthers have a powerful offense led by shortstop Griffin Cheney (.385/.500/.747, 9 HR) and their pitching staff is led by a strong bullpen. The Eagles are a disciplined, experienced team and lead the Sun Belt in fielding (.977). With the series being held in Clements Stadium, Georgia Southern should have a significant home-field advantage. The Eagles are 12-3 at home this season, while the Panthers are 7-8 away from home—although they have won four straight road games over the last week, including Tuesday at Georgia Tech.