What To Watch For This Weekend In College Baseball (4/1)

Image credit: Indiana SS Jeremy Houston (Photo courtesy of Indiana)

Top 25 Schedule

Rank	Team	Opponents (Fri., Sat., Sun.)	TV	Notes
1	Arkansas	Auburn (Thurs.-Sat.)	SEC Network+
2	Vanderbilt	at Louisiana State (Thurs.-Sat.)	SEC Network+ (Thurs., Sat.), ESPNU (Fri.)
3	Mississippi	at (14) Florida (Thurs.-Sat.)	SEC Network (Thurs.), SEC Network+ (Fri., Sat.)
4	Texas Tech	at Kansas State (Thurs.-Sat.)	ESPN+
5	Mississippi State	Kentucky (Thurs.-Sat.)	ESPNU (Thurs.), SEC Network (Fri.), SEC Network+ (Sat.)
6	Louisville	Wake Forest	ACC Network Extra (Fri., Sat.), ESPN2 (Sun.)
7	Texas	at Kansas (Thurs.-Sat.)	ESPN+
8	East Carolina	Cincinnati (Thurs.-Sat.)	ESPN+ (Thurs., Fri.), ECUPirates.com (Sat.)
9	Georgia Tech	Virginia (Thurs.-Sat.)	ACC Network Extra
10	Tennessee	at Alabama	SEC Network+ (Fri.), SEC Network (Sat., Sun.)
11	South Carolina	at Georgia	SEC Network+
12	Notre Dame	at (17) Pittsburgh (Sat.-Mon.)	ACC Network Extra
13	Virginia Tech	Boston College (Thurs.-Sat.)	ACC Network Extra
14	Florida	(3) Mississippi (Thurs.-Sat.)	SEC Network (Thurs.), SEC Network+ (Fri., Sat.)
15	UCLA	Washington (Thurs.-Sat.)	Pac-12 Network
16	Arizona	at Arizona State (Thurs.-Sat.)	Pac-12 Network
17	Pittsburgh	(12) Notre Dame (Sat.-Mon.)	ACC Network Extra
18	Florida State	(21) North Carolina	ACC Network Extra (Fri., Sat.), ACC Network (Sun.)
19	Oregon	New Mexico State (Thurs.-Sat.)	Pac12 Network+
20	Miami	Duke	ACC Network Extra
21	North Carolina	at (18) Florida State	ACC Network Extra (Fri., Sat.), ACC Network (Sun.)
22	Texas Christian	at Oklahoma	Fox Sports Oklahoma+ (Fri.), Fox Sports Oklahoma (Sat.), SoonerSports.TV (Sun.)
23	Louisiana Tech	Alabama-Birmingham (Thurs.-Sat.)	CUSA.TV
24	Michigan	vs. Northwestern (Fri., Sat.), at Maryland (Sun., Mon.)	Big Ten Network+	College Park, Md.
25	Indiana State	at Saint Louis (Thurs.-Sat.)	ESPN+ (Thurs.)

(3) Mississippi at (14) Florida

Undeniably, this series had more juice a week ago when it would have been a matchup of top-five teams. Ole Miss (20-4, 6-0) did its part, sweeping Alabama to start 6-0 in SEC play for the first time in more than 50 years. But Florida (16-8, 3-3) hit a snag at South Carolina, where it got swept. In light of that sweep, this weekend brings a greater sense of urgency for the Gators. The good news is they get to play in the new Florida Ballpark, where they are 15-4. The bad news is none of their starters threw more than five innings last week at South Carolina and they now have to slow down a potent offense led by Peyton Chatagnier (.367/.466/.551) and Tim Elko (.341/.450/.714, 9 HR). If, back in Gainesville, Florida can find its mojo on the mound—and it will shake things up by using openers for Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich, it has what it takes to get back on track against Ole Miss. But the Rebels are 6-1 away from Swayze Field, with all seven games coming against high-quality competition.

(12) Notre Dame at (17) Pittsburgh

This is the top-20 ACC showdown that nobody saw coming. Notre Dame hasn’t ranked in the top 20 since 2013, its final season in the Big East. Pitt had never before been a top-20 team and in six ACC seasons has never finished better than sixth in the Coastal Division. But this weekend Notre Dame (11-4, 10-4) and Pitt (12-8, 8-7) meet as two ACC contenders. The Fighting Irish have the best record in the ACC and won their first four conference series before last weekend splitting against Louisville (the rubber game was canceled due to weather). The Panthers have been a bit more up and down and last weekend were swept at home by Virginia Tech. If Pitt is to contend as a regional host, it needs a response this weekend.

(21) North Carolina at (18) Florida State

Life comes at you fast this year in the ACC. A week ago, North Carolina was coming off a solid series win at Boston College and a win against East Carolina. This week, the Tar Heels (13-10, 8-7) are on a four-game losing streak after getting swept at home by North Carolina State—which had won just one ACC game going into the weekend—and losing in walk-off fashion at ECU. For its part, Florida State (13-8, 8-7) went from a resounding six-game winning streak that included four games against Florida and Miami to a home series loss to Wake Forest—which picked up its first ACC series win in the process. Now, both the Tar Heels and Seminoles are looking to bounce back in Tallahassee. This season there are no breathers in ACC play, so finding a way to stop a skid this weekend is crucial.

(16) Arizona at Arizona State

It’s a rivalry weekend in Arizona, as the Wildcats (16-7, 3-3) travel to Phoenix Municipal Stadium to take on the Sun Devils (15-5, 4-2). The Sun Devils are coming off an impressive sweep of Washington State, in which they twice shut out the Cougars and held them to four runs on the weekend. Arizona State has endured some difficult injuries on the mound, including losing Opening Day starter Cooper Benson, but has overcome them and enters the weekend with a 2.98 team ERA, the second-best mark in the Pac-12. That staff has a challenging series ahead, as the Wildcats are averaging 9.2 runs per game, the most of any major conference team. If Arizona State can slow the Arizona offense, it has a chance to grab its best series win of the season.

Indiana at Ohio State

This weekend presents a big opportunity for two of the projected contenders in the Big Ten. Indiana (11-3) has the best record in the conference but has not yet played most of the conference’s top contenders. Ohio State (8-7) has faced a tougher slate but has been up and down against it. The Buckeyes need an offensive jolt—they’re hitting just .228/.315/.370 as a team. Unfortunately, they’re looking for it against perhaps the best pitching staff in the conference—the Hoosiers’ 2.55 team ERA leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally (minimum 10 games). Ohio State needs this series, as it enters a particularly difficult stretch in its schedule, to remain within range of the conference leaders. If Indiana, however, takes the series in Columbus, it will leave no doubt about its ability to win a second straight Big Ten title.