Off The Bat: Miami, Auburn Make Big Statements

1. The gaudy numbers going into this weekend’s top-10 ACC showdown between Virginia and Miami belonged to the Cavaliers. They were leading the nation in scoring at 11 runs per game and they ranked fourth in the nation in team ERA at 2.84. They hadn’t lost a series all season and were No. 2 in the Top 25.

The weekend, however, belonged to the Hurricanes. They swept the Cavaliers at Mark Light Field and, in the process, took control of the ACC title race. Miami (26-6, 13-2) extended its winning streak to 13 games—the second longest in the country, behind only Tennessee—and replaced Virginia at No. 2 in the Top 25—behind only Tennessee. It is Miami’s highest ranking since it was No. 1 in April 2016.

“The sweep is a great accomplishment,” coach Gino DiMare said. “We swung the bat really well and made some plays defensively. At the end of the day, it’s a team effort and they picked up our pitchers.”

It’s been a steady climb for Miami to this point. It took the Hurricanes some time to settle into the season, as they had to fight hard for a series win against Harvard and then lost their rivalry series at home to Florida. But since then, they’ve just kept getting better.

Each weekend, it seems like Miami has taken a step forward. From the Florida series, they bounced back with a series win against Boston College. That was followed with a series win at Clemson—Miami’s first road test of the year. A hard-fought sweep of North Carolina followed and then a sweep at Duke.

This weekend was the biggest step yet for the Hurricanes. They won Friday’s game, 6-2, behind another strong start from lefthander Carson Palmquist, who held the Cavaliers to two runs (zero earned) in six innings, and a strong showing from its lineup, which scored six runs on 10 hits in five innings against lefthander Nate Savino. They won the second game, 5-4, on a day when the bullpen delivered 4.2 scoreless innings and then they routed Virginia, 15-5, in the finale.

Miami didn’t follow its typical script to the sweep. Palmquist was excellent Friday and he’s now 6-1, 2.76 with 64 strikeouts and 18 walks in 42.1 innings this season. But righthander Karson Ligon, who has been so good all season, was knocked out in the fifth inning after giving up four runs. It was his shortest start of the season and the most runs he had given up. But five relievers combined to hold Virginia scoreless the rest of the way to pick up the freshman. And Sunday’s 15-run outburst was the most Miami has scored in an ACC game since April 19, 2019 (16, vs. Louisville).

All of that bodes well for Miami going forward. In Palmquist, Ligon (4-1, 2.16) and closer Andrew Walters (0-0, 0.00, 10 SV) it has a trio that stacks up well with any team in the country. But the Hurricanes showed this weekend that those three don’t have to be at their very best for Miami to win big games. The bullpen started the series with nine straight scoreless innings and ultimately held the top scoring offense in the country to two runs in 13.2 innings.

Miami’s offense has made real strides as well. Third baseman Yohandy Morales homered in the first two games of the series and has a nine-game hitting streak. The sophomore is hitting .325/.443/.608 with seven home runs this season. First baseman CJ Kayfus has been its most consistent hitter all season and is batting .377/.484/.533. Catcher Maxwell Romero Jr. had two multi-hit games on the weekend and getting him locked in would be big.

Miami still has room for improvement. The offense did a great job this weekend, but building more depth is important. Getting righthander Alejandro Rosario (1-1, 7.92), the team’s Opening Day starter, right would turn a strong rotation into an elite one. Continuing to find the right combinations in the bullpen is a never-ending task.

“We know where we want to be and it’s a process of working it,” DiMare said. “I’m happy with where the team is at right now, but by no means should we be patting ourselves on the back saying we have this thing figured out.”

But, at the midpoint of the ACC season, Miami is in first place and looks like the team to beat. It’s an Omaha contender—and more. The U is back.

2. While Miami made a statement, Virginia is now left to pick itself up after its first series loss of the season. Little went right in Coral Gables for the Cavaliers.

Jake Gelof, who came into the weekend leading the nation in home runs, went 0-for-10 on the weekend. Savino’s five innings on Friday were the most Virginia got from one of its starters and the lefthander has now lost back-to-back games, giving up 12 runs (11 earned) in nine innings over the last two weeks. Virginia came into the series averaging 11 runs per game and scored 11 runs on the weekend.

Still, all is not lost for the Cavaliers. They suddenly find themselves four games behind the Hurricanes in the division race and making up that kind of ground in five weeks may well prove to be impossible. But they still have a top-10 RPI, are still in position to host and still have the roster to make a deep postseason run.

Virginia has a tough week ahead with a game Tuesday at Old Dominion (22-8) and a tricky series at Pittsburgh (18-12, 7-7), which has won three straight ACC series. But the Cavaliers should be able to get back on track and not let the sweep linger.

3. In a Top 25 matchup on The Plains, Auburn came away with a key series win against Vanderbilt. The Tigers (22-10, 7-5) have now won three straight SEC series for the first time since 2017 and are up to No. 17 in the Top 25.

Making Auburn’s three straight SEC series wins even more impressive is that the Tigers have needed to win a rubber game each time. Against Vanderbilt, it was righthander Joseph Gonzalez who stepped up to lead the way. He threw a complete game in the 8-2 victory. He scattered eight hits, walked none, struck out eight and threw 104 pitches.

“Every series is important, but to grab one like this is meaningful,” coach Butch Thompson said. “We needed somebody to step up, and it was done by one guy who only got stronger at the end.”

Despite losing 19-4 on Saturday, Auburn’s pitching was the difference maker against Vanderbilt. Hayden Mullins, Carson Skipper and Blake Burkhalter combined to hold the Commodores to two hits in a 5-1 victory Friday and Gonzalez delivered the complete game on Sunday, Auburn’s first in an SEC game since Casey Mize in 2018.

Auburn is still more of an offensive team, but it’s finding its way on the mound. The Tigers don’t have a Casey Mize or a Keegan Thompson on this staff, but they have a lot of options to turn to. Gonzalez (4-0, 1.95) has now won back-to-back rubber games, as he also threw a quality start last week at Louisiana State. Lefthander Hayden Mullins (2-1, 3.04) has been solid at the front of the rotation and Blake Burhalter (3-0, 3.47, 7 SV) has settled in at the back of the bullpen.

With an offense that’s averaging 7.78 runs per game led by first baseman Sonny DiChiara (.452/.595/.946, 11 HR), Auburn doesn’t need the pitching to carry it most weekends. But the Tigers are also proving they don’t need to win slugfests every game either.

Auburn last season won 25 games overall and 10 SEC games. It’s quickly approaching both of those marks and has clearly put the disappointment of the 2021 season in the rear-view mirror. In the crowded SEC West, it’s just a game behind first-place Arkansas and has to be taken seriously in the race.

4. While Auburn has won three straight SEC series, Vanderbilt (22-9, 5-7) has now lost three straight SEC series. The Commodores have fallen out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2018, which was also the last time it lost three straight SEC series.

In 2018, the Commodores righted the ship, won the Clemson Regional and nearly wound up in Omaha, falling in extra innings in game 3 of the Nashville Super Regional to Mississippi State.

Can this Vanderbilt team execute a similar turnaround? Not a lot is going right for the Commodores right now, but the talent is there. The question is whether they can find the consistency they need. A series against Florida looms large this weekend with a tricky trip to Kentucky the following weekend.

5. No. 1 Tennessee this weekend swept Missouri to improve its record to an incredible 31-1 on the season. The Volunteers have won 23 straight games, including their first 12 of SEC play. Their 12-0 start to conference play is unprecedented in SEC history.

The previous record for the best start to SEC play was 11-0, held jointly by 1991 Louisiana State, 1964 Mississippi and 1940 Alabama. Since the league expanded to 12 teams and created its 30-game conference schedule in 1994, only 1994 Florida had started 10-0. Tennessee broke both marks this weekend.

Coach Tony Vitello played down the record, noting how hard it is to compare teams from season to season. But there’s no doubt that the Volunteers are on a phenomenal run.

“You just look at our group as a whole and appreciate what they do,” he said. “You can look at things we can get better at—like, even today there were things that could have been better—and then you march forward.”

6. After a modest start to the season, Alabama this weekend made a strong statement as it went to Swayze Field and swept Mississippi for the first time since 2014. The Crimson Tide (21-12, 7-5) are now just a game behind first-place Arkansas in the SEC West and have won eight of their last nine games.

The sweep itself was impressive, but so was the way the Tide went about securing it. In Friday and Sunday’s wins, they held the powerful Ole Miss lineup to a total of seven runs on eight hits. On Saturday, Alabama broke out its bats to win a slugfest, 12-10, in 10 innings.

Alabama got another big start Friday from righthander Garrett McMillan (3-2, 2.79), who held the Rebels to two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks in a 7-4 victory. It was his sixth quality start in eight starts this season. Lefthander Grayson Hitt (3-0, 2.78) delivered a quality start of his own on Sunday, giving the Tide a chance to pull away late for a 7-3 victory.

Despite losing starters Tyler Ras and Dylan Smith and closer Chase Lee in last year’s draft and ace lefthander Connor Prielipp, who started on Opening Day in 2020 and 2021, being sidelined due to Tommy John surgery, Alabama has built a strong pitching staff. The Tide have a 3.93 team ERA, which ranks fifth in the SEC. That group has kept Alabama in games all season long and should keep them in the mix as they go down the stretch run, chasing back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 2013-14.

7. While Alabama this weekend made a statement in Oxford, Ole Miss (19-12, 4-8) will try to put it—and its whole week—behind it as fast as possible. In addition to getting swept at home by the Crimson Tide, the Rebels lost Tuesday against Southern Mississippi, 10-7, in Pearl, Miss.

This weekend was the second time in three weeks that Ole Miss was swept at home, with the Alabama sweep following closely on the heels of Tennessee’s blitz through Oxford. Getting swept at Swayze Field is always going to sting for Ole Miss, but both of these sweeps have been particularly hard to swallow. Tennessee swept Ole Miss when the Rebels were the top-ranked team in the country and now Alabama did the same, but unlike Tennessee—which was a top-10 team at the time and has since put a stranglehold on No. 1, Alabama was unranked.

No matter the circumstances, the sweeps have laid bare the problems Ole Miss has on the mound. This was the big concern for the Rebels coming into the season and it has come to bear in a big way. They have a 7.15 team ERA in SEC play and for the last two weeks have gone away from a traditional rotation. While Ole Miss did get a tough series win at Kentucky a week ago, this weekend showed it is still looking for solutions.

The question now is whether the Rebels can find them in time. This week tanked their RPI, dropping them to No. 48, and they’re tied for last place in the SEC West. If the regular season ended today, Ole Miss would be fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, not in the mix to host or be a top-eight national seed.

The good news is that Ole Miss has six more weeks of SEC play—plus the conference tournament, which it typically plays well in—to get back on track. The slate doesn’t appear to be terribly onerous—but neither did a series at home against Alabama. The Rebels have gotten solid work from righthander Josh Mallitz, who threw 5.2 scoreless innings last week, and lefthander Hunter Elliott, who has a 3.77 ERA in 14.1 innings in conference play. If Ole Miss can find a couple more pitchers to join them, this team is still dangerous.

8. Louisville this weekend won a Top 25 matchup against North Carolina and did so in thrilling fashion, walking off with extra-inning wins both Saturday and Sunday. It was a big weekend for the Cardinals (23-8, 9-3), which remain in first place in the ACC Atlantic Division, and showed remarkable fight.

As good as the on-field action was, however, this weekend will likely never be forgotten for either UNC or Louisville because Sunday’s game was interrupted by a bomb threat at Jim Patterson Stadium. The game was halted with the Tar Heels leading 5-1 in the sixth inning Sunday and delayed for more than two hours while the stadium was searched. Once the all-clear was given, the game was able to resume, though they did so without fans. Louisville went on to win, 6-5, in 14 innings.

Coach Dan McDonnell said while the nature of the delay was unique, he and the Cardinals are used to dealing with interruptions and Sunday in some ways felt like any other delay.

“We kind of deal with a lot of challenges throughout the year,” he said. “These guys enjoyed each other. There was a lot of family over there.”

Louisville’s comeback Sunday was a significant one, as the Cardinals were on the verge of losing back-to-back ACC series. Now, with a tough trip to No. 19 Florida State on tap this weekend, the Cardinals are riding with a boost of momentum.

9. The Bedlam Series delivered on its promise for a great rivalry weekend and Oklahoma State came away with a big series win. The two teams split the first two games—both ended with 8-7 scores—before the Cowboys defeated the Sooners, 9-4, in Sunday’s rubber game. Oklahoma State (23-9, 7-2) remained apace with Texas Tech atop the Big 12 standings and it earned its most significant series win since Opening Weekend, when it won a series at Vanderbilt.

The Cowboys didn’t get their best pitching on the weekend, but righthander Bryce Osmond (2-1, 4.19) delivered a strong start in the finale to lead them to the win. He held the Sooners to one run on five hits and three walks in six innings, striking out eight. It was his best start of the year and the best start the Cowboys got this weekend.

Oklahoma State could use a few more starts like that from Osmond down the stretch. He came to Stillwater as one of the top recruits in the 2019 prep class and, along with righthanders Justin Campbell (4-1, 3.40) and Victor Mederos (3-1, 5.68), has the potential to make this one of the best rotations in the Big 12 and beyond. Oklahoma State has a 3.98 team ERA—the second best in the Big 12—but there still might be another level to find if the rotation can take a step further. 

The Cowboys have done what they needed to do in the first half, but a difficult second half of the season remains, starting this weekend with a tricky trip to West Virginia. Series against the Big 12’s other leading contenders remain as well and Oklahoma State will have to be atop its game to keep its momentum rolling.

10. In the other Big 12 showdown of the weekend, Texas (24-10, 5-4) got an important series win against Texas Christian (21-11, 7-5). The Longhorns won Friday’s opener behind an outstanding effort from lefthander Pete Hansen, who threw a two-hit shutout and struck out 12 batters. After TCU on Saturday evened the series with a 7-5 win, Texas claimed the series Sunday with a 7-3 victory.

It’s a significant series win for the Longhorns, who were playing at home for just the second weekend since February. They’ve managed a difficult stretch of schedule reasonably well and remain squarely in the mix for the Big 12 title. Things should get easier from here for Texas—it has yet to play any of Baylor, Kansas and Kansas State, a trio that is a combined 4-20 so far in Big 12 play—but it couldn’t afford to lose more ground this weekend and it didn’t.

One thing to watch going forward for Texas is that righthander Tristan Stevens (4-3, 4.15) on Saturday was again hit hard. He gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits in two innings and has really scuffled in two of his Big 12 starts. Those are sandwiched around a quality start last week against Oklahoma, but since starting the year with 19 straight scoreless innings in his first three starts, Stevens has been more up-and-down than Texas would like. Especially with righthander Tanner Witt out for the year due to Tommy John surgery, the Longhorns need to get Stevens back on track to find their edge on the mound.

11. The Pac-12 title race got another jumble this weekend. On paper, it looked like it should have been a quiet weekend in the conference, with the top teams not matched up against each other. But last-place Washington State went to Tucson and upset Arizona, which came into the weekend in first place.

The Cougars (11-19, 4-11) won the first game, 11-5, and then came back for a 6-5 victory Saturday to clinch the series. Arizona (22-10, 10-5) won the finale, 5-2, and in doing so remained in first place in the conference standings, but it is now tied with Oregon State and UCLA, Stanford and Oregon are all within 1.5 games of the leaders.

Arizona also lost Tuesday to rival Arizona State and its 1-3 week did a number on its RPI, which is down to 33. That leaves the Wildcats with much to do in the second half in both the race for the Pac-12 title, which they won last season, and to host regionals.

Of more concern, however, is the fact the Wildcats have now lost three home series this season. They haven’t done that since 2015.

12. The Pac-12 wasn’t the only conference that got a shakeup this weekend. The Sun Belt, which is making a bid as the most interesting league outside the major conferences this season, was full of action. Georgia Southern (20-11, 8-4) went on the road and upset Texas State (24-9, 9-3), handing the Bobcats their first series loss of the season. That result, combined with Georgia State (21-10, 10-2) going on the road to sweep Coastal Carolina, saw Georgia State climb past Texas State into first place.

It’s early, but the standings are incredibly tight and just three games separate the top six teams in the conference. Georgia State is on a seven-game winning streak and is flying high under third-year coach Brad Stromdahl. Texas State has the loudest wins of any team in the conference, as it won a series at Arizona and split a pair of games with Texas. Georgia Southern has the best RPI in the league at No. 18 and now has the best conference result of any team in the Sun Belt. Troy (21-10, 8-4), South Alabama (20-10, 7-5) and Louisiana-Lafayette (18-14,7-5) cannot be overlooked either.

It’s setting up to be a thrilling stretch run in the Sun Belt—which will only get more exciting next season when James Madison, Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Mississippi join the league. For now, watch Georgia State and Georgia Southern this weekend in a rivalry showdown in Statesboro, Ga.

Eight For Omaha

Arkansas, Miami, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech, Virginia

There’s one change to the field this week, as Miami enters and Arizona exits. The Hurricanes made an emphatic statement with their sweep of Virginia and are now in the driver’s seat of the ACC. This is a team that’s won 13 straight games, that has proven it can win in a variety of ways and can lean on a strong core on the mound when it needs to. That sounds like a team that can handle anything thrown at it in the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament. Writing off Arizona would be a mistake, but it lost a home series to Washington State (which came into the weekend at 9-18) and is now just 12-7 at Hi Corbett Field. For a team that should have a legitimate home-field advantage, that’s troubling.

Looking Ahead

No. 24 Louisiana State travels to No. 7 Arkansas for an SEC West showdown. It’s early, but the Razorbacks (23-7, 8-4) hold just a one-game lead on the Tigers (23-9, 7-5) in the division standings and this weekend will have season-long implications. Arkansas is coming off its first series loss of the season at Florida, while LSU swept Mississippi State in Starkville. This is a chance for both teams to make a statement.

No. 19 Florida State looks to bounce back against No. 9 Louisville. The Seminoles (18-13, 7-8) are coming off back-to-back series losses against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech and will be eager to end that skid this weekend. But the Cardinals (23-8, 9-3) are flying high in first place in the ACC Atlantic Division. This is a big weekend for Florida State.

No. 11 Stanford visits No. 13 UCLA for a Pac-12 clash. The top of the conference standings is tight and the Cardinal (17-10, 9-6) and Bruins (22-9, 8-4) are in the thick of it. This series should be a well-pitched one, as UCLA (2.73) and Stanford (3.88) rank first and second in the Pac-12 in team ERA.