What To Watch For On College Baseball’s Opening Weekend

Image credit: Cliff Welch

Top 25 Schedule

 

Rk. Team Opponents (Fri, Sat, Sun) TV Notes
1 Vanderbilt Virginia, Fullerton, TCU MLB Network (Friday vs. Virginia) MLB4 Tournament in Scottsdale, Az.
2 LSU UL-Monroe, Army, Air Force SEC Network+ Military Appreciation Weekend Tournament
3 UCLA St. John’s None  
4 Florida Long Beach State SEC Network+  
5 North Carolina Xavier ACC Network Extra  
6 Florida State Maine ACC Network Extra  
7 Stanford Ball State, Wichita State, Pepperdine None Angels Classic in Tempe, Az.
8 Texas Tech Oregon Texas Tech TV (Fri-Sat, Mon), Fox Sports Southwest + (Sun.)  
9 Mississippi State Youngstown State SEC Network+  
10 Oregon State New Mexico, Gonzaga, No. 24 Minnesota None Sanderson Ford College Classic
11 Louisville UConn None In Lakeland, Fla.
12 East Carolina Radford Pirates All-Access  
13 Ole Miss Wright State SEC Network+  
14 Clemson South Alabama ACC Network Extra  
15 Georgia Dayton SEC Network+  
16 Baylor Holy Cross None  
17 Auburn Georgia Southern SEC Network+  
18 Arkansas Eastern Illinois SEC Network+  
19 Texas @UL-Lafayette Cox Sports TV (Fri.) and Ragin’ Cajuns Digital Network (Sat-Sun.)  
20 Michigan Binghamton None In Port St. Lucie, Fla.
21 Southern Miss. Purdue None  
22 Duke Lehigh ACC Network Extra  
23 Coastal Carolina VCU, Maryland, Campbell Chanticleer Sports Network (Friday) Brittain Sports Invitational in Conway, SC.
24 Minnesota New Mexico, Gonzaga, No. 10 Oregon State None Sanderson Ford College Classic
25 UC Irvine Washington None  

 

Coach’s Breakdown

Every week, Baseball America’s Dave Serrano will highlight something he’s looking forward to over the upcoming weekend. The former Coach of the Year will be in Arizona at the MLB4 Tournament this weekend, which includes No. 1 Vanderbilt.

Under the Radar Series To Watch

Louisiana Tech at Southeastern Louisiana

This series has everything you want in a non-conference series between two teams outside of the traditional power conferences. Most importantly, both teams have legitimate postseason aspirations. Beyond that, the atmosphere should be about as good as you can get on opening weekend. Southeastern Louisiana already draws well at their home park, and bringing in a quality in-state foe should only add to that. Even with Louisiana Tech lefthander David Leal out with injury, the pitching matchups should be fun. The Bulldogs will roll with righthander Matt Miller and lefthanders Logan Robbins and Logan Bailey, all of whom were big parts of La. Tech’s staff in 2018. The Lions, meanwhile, will counter with a rotation led by accomplished seniors Corey Gaconi and Carlisle Koestler.

Kent State at Dallas Baptist

If you were to make a shortlist of the most successful mid-major programs in modern college baseball, these two programs make the cut. Neither show signs of slowing down in 2019. Kent State is once again the favorite in the Mid-American Conference. While it’s too big an ask for one pitcher to replace a pitcher the caliber of former ace Joey Murray, veteran lefty Connor Wollersheim looks to take a big step forward at the front of the rotation. Dallas Baptist has a clear centerpiece in the lineup in shortstop Jimmy Glowenke, but there are some pieces to replace around him. The addition of junior college transfer Herbert Iser and grad transfer Augie Isaacson will help mitigate those losses.

San Francisco at San Diego State

San Diego State is once again the favorite in the Mountain West Conference, but it will be interesting to see how their rotation performs. On Friday, righthander Logan Boyer is relatively unproven, but now healthy after missing time in 2018, he has high-end potential. Righthander Harrison Pyatt is a steady hand on Saturday after serving as a starter last season. On Sunday, the Aztecs will turn to righthander Brad Wegman, a grad transfer. He never quite put it all together at Southern California, but the talent is clearly there. USF, meanwhile, couldn’t be much more certain about at least two-thirds of the rotation, with the return of righthanders Riley Ornido and Landen Bourassa—both proven pitchers with electric stuff. Stereotypical West Coast baseball is often low-scoring, and this series could very well live up to that perception.

Joe Healy

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