What To Watch For This Weekend In College Baseball (3/28/19)

Image credit: Arkansas' Isaiah Campbell (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Top 25 Schedule

Rk.	Team	Opponent	TV
1	UCLA	at Southern California	Pac-12 Networks
2	Mississippi State	(17) Louisiana State	ESPNU (Thurs.), SEC Network (Fri.), SEC Network+ (Sat.)
3	Stanford	at Washington State	Pac-12 Network Plus
4	Vanderbilt	Tennessee	SEC Network+ (Fri.), SEC Network (Sat., Sun.)
5	North Carolina State	Virginia	ACC Network Extra
6	Georgia	at Kentucky	SEC Network (Thurs.), SEC Network+ (Fri., Sat.)
7	Texas	Xavier	Longhorn Network
8	Oregon State	at Washington	Pac-12 Networks
9	North Carolina	Duke	ACC Network Extra
10	Arkansas	(22) Mississippi	ESPNU (Fri.), SEC Network (Sat.), SEC Network+ (Sun.)
11	Texas Tech	at Kansas State	ESPN3
12	Texas A&M	Missouri	SEC Network+
13	East Carolina	at South Florida	YouTube (BullsVision)
14	Arizona State	Arizona	Pac-12 Networks
15	Florida	Alabama	SEC Network+
16	Louisville	Wake Forest	ACC Network Extra
17	Louisiana State	at (2) Mississippi State	ESPNU (Thurs.), SEC Network (Fri.), SEC Network+ (Sat.)
18	Auburn	at South Carolina	SEC Network+ (Fri.), SEC Network (Sat., Sun.)
19	UC Irvine	at Hawaii	BigWest.TV (Fri., Sat.)
20	Coastal Carolina	Arkansas State	Chanticleer Sports Network (Sat.)
21	Florida State	Boston College	ACC Network Extra
22	Mississippi	at (10) Arkansas	ESPNU (Fri.), SEC Network (Sat.), SEC Network+ (Sun.)
23	Texas Christian	Oklahoma State	FoxSports Southwest (Fri., Sat.), HFTV (Sun.)
24	Clemson	at Virginia Tech	ACC Network Extra
25	Oklahoma	at West Virginia	Mountaineer TV

Series To Watch

(17) Louisiana State at (2) Mississippi State

There’s no love lost between these two SEC West Division foes, which should make for a fun weekend in Starkville. Mississippi State (23-3, 4-2 SEC) last week earned a hard-fought series win against Auburn, punctuated by its potent offense scoring 35 runs over the last two games. But its pitching staff showed some cracks of its own, particularly in the bullpen, and it will likely have a different look this weekend. LSU (17-8, 4-2 SEC) pitched well last weekend in a series loss at Georgia, particularly over the first two games of the series. But it has lost three straight games and its potent offense has gone cold. Over four games in the last week, the Tigers have scored a combined eight runs. Thursday’s opener will be highlighted by a showdown between LSU righthander Zack Hess (2-1, 2.97), who is riding a 14-inning scoreless streak, and Mississippi State lefthander Ethan Small (2-0, 1.75), who ranks fifth in the country with 58 strikeouts in 36 innings.

(8) Oregon State at Washington

These two Pacific Northwest foes have developed a healthy rivalry in recent years, and this season both are off to good starts following their appearance in the 2018 College World Series. Oregon State (16-5-1, 3-3 Pac-12) will still be without righthander Kevin Abel, the 2018 Freshman of the Year, at the front of their rotation, as he remains sidelined by a back injury. Washington (14-6, 5-1 Pac-12) has thus far mostly gone under the radar and produced another solid start to the season, but that would change with a series win this weekend. Washington catcher Nick Kahle is quietly producing an impressive season at the plate and is hitting .415/.565/.600 with three home runs. Adley Rutschman, his counterpart this weekend, leads the Beavers and is hitting .429/.588/.814 with eight home runs.

(22) Mississippi at (10) Arkansas

The SEC West gauntlet produces not just one, but two Top 25 series this weekend. Arkansas (21-4, 5-1 SEC) is rolling and has this season lost just once at Baum Stadium. Ace righthander Isaiah Campbell (5-0, 1.93) and closer Matt Cronin (1-0, 0.00, 6 SV) lead a deep pitching staff that will be challenged this week by Ole Miss’ powerful offense. The Rebels (18-8, 3-3 SEC) are coming off a series loss at Missouri and now face another difficult road series. Outfielders Ryan Olenek (.420/.496/.560) and Thomas Dillard (.337/.482/.685, 9 HR) make for a powerful duo in the lineup.

Arkansas State at (20) Coastal Carolina

It’s early, but this series has turned into a showdown between the two division leaders in the Sun Belt Conference. It’s no surprise to see Coastal (19-6-1, 5-1 Sun Belt) atop the East Division, as the Chanticleers have lived up to expectations this year. But A-State (17-8, 5-1 Sun Belt) is a surprise in the West. The Red Wolves haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1994 and last year finished tied for fourth place in the division. But they’ve won three straight series and nine of their last 12 games. This will be their biggest test of the season, however.  

Nebraska at Minnesota

These two teams have combined to win the last four Big Ten titles and are coming off sweeps on the first weekend of conference play. Minnesota (8-13, 3-0 Big 10) has played a brutally tough schedule—all on the road—but remains one of the conference favorites. The Gophers have dug themselves a hole, but they still have time to get back into the mix for the NCAA Tournament and a series win this weekend would be a good step in the right direction. Nebraska (12-7, 3-0 Big 10) is 9-2 since the calendar flipped to March and has won six straight games. This weekend will be a difficult test for the Huskers, but a series win would be another strong indication that they’ve put a disappointing 2018 in the rearview mirror.

UC Santa Barbara at Cal State Fullerton

Big West Conference play starts this weekend with an intriguing matchup between UCSB (17-4) and Fullerton (11-11). The Gauchos, who have missed the NCAA Tournament the last two years after reaching the CWS in 2016, are off to an excellent start and look to figure prominently into the Big West title race. The Titans, however, have sputtered this month after a solid 4-2 start to the season. They are 7-9 this month, a mark that would look much worse without a sweep last weekend of uncharacteristically poor Long Beach State (3-20). The Big West has just three teams that are at least .500 entering conference play (No. 19 UC Irvine is the third), so this weekend has outsized importance in the title race.