What To Watch For This Weekend In College Baseball (5/19)

Top 25 Schedule

Rank	Team	Opponents (Thurs., Fri., Sat.)	TV
1	Tennessee	at Mississippi State	SEC Network (Thurs.), SEC Network+ (Fri., Sat.)
2	Oregon State	(22) UCLA	Pac-12 Network
3	Virginia Tech	Duke	ACC Network (Thurs.), ACC Network Extra (Fri., Sat.)
4	Texas A&M	at Ole Miss	SEC Network+
5	Stanford	Southern California	Pac-12 Network+
6	Texas Tech	(24) Oklahoma	ESPN+
7	Arkansas	at Alabama	SEC Network+ (Thurs., Sat.), SEC Network (Fri.)
8	Notre Dame	at (9) Miami	ACC Network (Thurs., Fri.), ACC Network Extra (Sat.)
9	Miami	(8) Notre Dame	ACC Network (Thurs., Fri.), ACC Network Extra (Sat.)
10	Gonzaga	at San Diego	WCC Network
11	Virginia	at (14) Louisville	ACC Network Extra (Thurs.), ACC Network (Fri., Sat.)
12	Florida State	at North Carolina	ACC Network Extra
13	Oklahoma State	at Baylor	ESPN+
14	Louisville	(11) Virginia	ACC Network Extra (Thurs.), ACC Network (Fri., Sat.)
15	TCU	Santa Clara	ESPN+
16	Texas State	at Georgia State	None
17	Maryland	at Purdue	B1G+ (Thurs.), Big Ten Network (Fri., Sat.)
18	Southern Mississippi	at Middle Tennessee State	CUSA.TV
19	Connecticut	at Georgetown	GUHoyas.com
20	Auburn	at Kentucky	SEC Network+
21	Vanderbilt	LSU	ESPN2 (Thurs.), SEC Network+ (Fri.), SEC Network (Sat.)
22	UCLA	at (2) Oregon State	Pac-12 Network
23	UC Santa Barbara	UC Riverside (Fri.-Sun.)	ESPN+
24	Oklahoma	at (6) Texas Tech	ESPN+
25	Arizona	at Oregon	Pac-12 Network

(22) UCLA at (2) Oregon State
Watch on Pac-12 Network (9 p.m. ET Thursday and Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday).

The Pac-12 title will be decided this weekend in Corvallis. Oregon State (40-11, 19-8) holds a one-game lead on Stanford and is two games ahead of UCLA (33-19, 17-10) and is aiming for its first conference title since 2018. While the title is on the line, the Beavers are also simply looking to bounce back from last week’s series loss at Arizona, just their second of the season. While UCLA looks to be in solid position to reach the NCAA Tournament based on the bulk of its resume, its RPI (65) is outside a comfortable range. A win this weekend would be a big boost for the Bruins. These are the two top teams in the conference in team ERA, with UCLA (3.48) at No. 1 and Oregon State (3.69) just behind.

(24) Oklahoma at (6) Texas Tech
Stream on ESPN+ (7:30 p.m. ET Thursday and Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday).

Texas Tech’s sweep of Oklahoma State in Stillwater last weekend upended the Big 12 standings and made this weekend’s showdown in Lubbock the title decider. TCU (32-18, 16-8) leads the standings but its conference slate is done, and it will play Santa Clara this weekend. Texas Tech (35-16, 14-7) is in second place, a half-game off the pace, while Oklahoma (31-19, 13-8) is still alive in the title hunt itself. A sweep by either the Red Raiders or Sooners would give them the title—Tech outright and Oklahoma by virtue of a tiebreaker. TCU owns the tiebreaker over Texas Tech, but a series win for the Red Raiders would still earn them a share of the title, something that seemed unlikely a week ago. This could be a high-scoring weekend as Texas Tech averages nine runs per game (eighth nationally) and Oklahoma averages 7.7.

(8) Notre Dame at (9) Miami
Watch on ACC Network Thursday (7 p.m. ET) and Friday (7 p.m.). Stream on ACC Network Extra on Saturday (1 p.m.).

This top-10 showdown at Mark Light Field has implications for both the ACC title and the race for top-eight seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Miami (37-15, 18-9) holds a slim lead for the ACC title, but has been scuffling of late, putting both its title and top-eight hopes in doubt. The Hurricanes have lost three straight games and three of their last four ACC series. Notre Dame (32-11, 15-9) could vault into the top-eight seeds with a series win this weekend and—importantly—secure a top-four seed in the ACC Tournament, which makes it much easier to advance to the semifinals. Miami has been especially tough to beat at home this season, going 26-7 in Coral Gables. That homefield advantage could prove to be the difference this weekend.

(10) Gonzaga at San Diego
Stream on WCC Network (9 p.m. ET Thursday, 4 p.m. Friday, TBA Saturday).

Gonzaga (32-14, 18-6) holds a two-game lead in the West Coast Conference standings on San Diego (31-16, 16-8) and Portland going into the final weekend. It needs just one win to clinch its fourth WCC title in six years and its second straight. It’s been in the mix to host regionals all season, but its RPI has slipped in recent weeks, and it needs to make a statement to secure a home regional. San Diego, meanwhile, still has a chance to win its first WCC title since 2010, but it needs a sweep to do so. The Toreros are also trying to hold on to a spot in the NCAA Tournament. They’re near the bubble for an at-large berth and avoiding slipping behind Portland in the standings would be a nice boost to their chances.

(11) Virginia at (14) Louisville
Stream on ACC Network Extra on Thursday (6 p.m. ET). Watch on ACC Network Friday (4 p.m.) and Saturday (12 p.m.).

Virginia (37-13, 16-11) and Louisville (36-15-1, 16-10-1) are both on track to host regionals and this weekend’s winner will make a strong push toward a top-eight seed. But the loser may find itself on the hosting bubble. That adds a little more juice to an already intriguing series between top-15 teams. Both teams rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring, as Virginia is fifth at 9.2 runs per game and Louisville is 10th at 8.9. Louisville is playing very well at home, as is usually the case for the Cardinals. They’re 27-5 at Jim Patterson Stadium and have not lost a home series this year. They’ll lean on that homefield advantage as they try to bounce back from a tough series loss last weekend at Virginia Tech. Virginia, meanwhile, may have the edge on the mound. It ranks 12th nationally with a 3.72 team ERA and if its pitching staff is able to deliver this weekend, the Cavaliers have what it takes to win the series.

Columbia at Pennsylvania
Stream on ESPN+ (Saturday 1 p.m. ET, Sunday noon and 3 p.m., if necessary).

The Ivy League is one of two conference tournaments that will conclude this weekend (the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is the other). Columbia (27-15, 17-4) travels to Penn (32-13, 17-4) for a best-of-three series that will decide the conference’s first champion since 2019, as both of the last two seasons were canceled. The Quakers won the regular season series between these two teams in March on the first weekend of conference play. Penn has been impressive all spring, opening its season with a series win at Texas A&M and only losing one series this year—at Wofford, which is in first place in the Southern Conference. After losing the series to Penn, Columbia ran off 19 straight wins, however. That streak ended last weekend with a series loss to Dartmouth, but it is the second-longest winning streak this season, trailing only Tennessee’s 23-game streak. This matchup is an intriguing one, as Columbia is the Ivy League’s top offense (8.3 runs per game) while Penn is the conference’s best pitching team (4.06 team ERA). Penn is looking for its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1995, while Columbia last went in 2018.