Florida State, South Carolina Claim Key Series Wins, Highlighting College Baseball’s Weekend (Off The Bat)

2. The series loss was a tough one for Duke and one that will go down as a missed opportunity. It easily could have won the series or even swept it.

The Blue Devils on Friday left 10 runners on and had runners on second and third with one out in the ninth before a line out and strike out ended the game. On Saturday, Bryce Miller led off the ninth with a home run to cut the deficit to one run and then got runners to second and third with one out again. A pop out and line out ended the game that day. Sunday’s 16-4 victory in seven innings must have been cathartic after the two close losses to open the series and an 18-4 loss at Campbell on Tuesday.

Even with the tough week, Duke (30-14, 14-10) remains as much in the mix to host as ever. But it’s firmly planted on the hosting bubble with an RPI of 20. The Blue Devils are off until Sunday for their finals break and will need a strong finishing kick against a difficult slate of Longwood, at East Carolina, at Georgia Tech, Charleston and North Carolina.

3. Kentucky and South Carolina played two bitterly difficult games to start their series in Columbia. On Friday, they locked in a pitcher’s duel for eight innings before trading punches in the ninth and 10th innings. The Gamecocks came out on top with a 6-5 victory, as they hit four home runs in the final two innings – two from Blake Jackson, including the walk-off, two-run blast in the 10th inning. Saturday was a wild, back-and-forth game that saw both teams erase deficits of at least five runs. In the end, the Wildcats edged past the Gamecocks, 15-13, escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the ninth.

That set up a rubber game Sunday with plenty of promise. After all, with all the drama of the first two games, surely the finale would fall along similar lines.

Only, it didn’t. South Carolina cruised to a 10-0, run-rule shortened victory in seven innings to win the series. Dylan Eskew threw 6.1 scoreless innings and the Gamecocks’ offense pounded Kentucky starter Mason Moore for nine runs on 10 hits and three walks in 4.2 innings. It was the first time this season Kentucky was shut out.

The win was a big one for the Gamecocks (29-14, 11-10). They are aiming to host regionals and have some key bullet points on their resume already, including a top-15 RPI, 12 quad 1 wins (second-most nationally) and a top-five strength of schedule. Those things are not going away. But to feel comfortable in their position as hosts going into the SEC Tournament, they must finish above .500 in conference play (Going 15-15 wouldn’t eliminate South Carolina from hosting contention, but it would then need an SEC Tournament run). A loss Sunday would not have made that impossible, but it would have made it that much harder. As it stands, South Carolina needs to go at least 5-4 over the next three weekends – at Missouri, Georgia, at Tennessee. It’s not an easy path, but it’s a manageable one.

Sunday was also just the second rubber game South Carolina had played all season. For it to get that response in such a big moment is very encouraging going into the stretch run.

4. Kentucky (33-9, 16-5) started SEC play blazing hot, going 14-1 in the first half of conference play. But the Wildcats have now lost consecutive series against Tennessee and at South Carolina. It doesn’t get any easier this weekend either, as No. 2 Arkansas visits Kentucky Proud Park.

There are a couple different ways to look at this stretch for Kentucky. On the one hand, you can view it pessimistically. The Wildcats faced Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama and Auburn in the first half of the conference season. All five of those teams currently have losing SEC records. Only two of those teams (Georgia and Alabama) project as NCAA Tournament teams today and Kentucky got both in Lexington. The Wildcats did a great job winning games they should, but as the schedule has stiffened, they’ve started losing more.

On the other hand, there’s an optimistic view. Kentucky is still strongly trending toward being a top-eight seed in the SEC Tournament and it’s tied with Arkansas for first place in the SEC. Its 14 quad 1 wins are the most nationally and you can say what you want about its schedule, but it ranks 15th nationally and there’s no such thing as a bad SEC win. Only Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas A&M have not lost multiple SEC series.

I think the last two weeks have shown at the Wildcats are not in the SEC’s elite, that there is a gap between them and Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas A&M, though they’ll get a chance to disprove that this weekend. But I would not be dismissive of the Wildcats. They’re going to be playing at home in June and they’re 17-4 in Kentucky Proud Park. They have plenty of time to relocate their groove and make the most of this special season.

5. After getting swept last weekend at California, Oregon State needed a get-right week and that’s just what it got. The Beavers beat Portland on Tuesday and then took the first two games against Oregon, 2-0 and 4-2, to win a big series.

Winning the final Pac-12 series between the in-state foes was significant from an emotional and symbolic standpoint. But it was bigger for what it meant for the Beavers’ NCAA Tournament resume and how the team sets up for the stretch run. Oregon State (33-10, 12-8) is in third place in the Pac-12, 1.5 games behind the leaders. Its RPI is still in the top 15, keeping it on track to host. All of that is significant, especially in the wake of the sweep in Berkeley.

But what Oregon State got on the mound the first two games of the weekend was an even bigger deal. Righthander Aiden May on Friday had a career game, as he held the Ducks to one hit and one walk over eight scoreless innings, striking out 14. Righthander Jacob Kmatz was also excellent on Saturday, holding the Ducks to one run on two hits and no walks in six innings, striking out 10 batters. Closer Bridger Holmes threw a scoreless ninth on both days, earning his ninth and 10th saves of the season.

The Ducks, who came into the weekend second in the Pac-12 in scoring at 7.6 runs per game, got theirs on Sunday in a 7-1 victory. Oregon State is perhaps a bit short on the mound beyond May (3-0, 3.63), Kmatz (5-1, 2.79), Holmes (2-3, 1.14, 10 SV) and Joey Mundt (2-0, 2.29). But as they showed this weekend, when May and Kmatz are firing, there aren’t many better 1-2 punches in the country. And with the Beavers 21-2 this season at Goss Stadium, any postseason opponent is in for a tough weekend.

6. Oregon (29-14, 12-9) pitched well all weekend. RJ Gordon (6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K) and Grayson Grinsell (6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K) both delivered quality starts in losses and Kevin Seitter (7 IP, 1 R, 4 BB, 9 K) was excellent in Sunday’s victory. The Ducks used four relievers and they combined to hold the Beavers to two runs on five hits in six innings.

Oregon State has the Pac-12’s best offense, averaging 8.70 runs per game. To hold the Beavers to just seven runs on the weekend, particularly in Corvallis, is impressive.

Oregon, however, won’t be interested in moral victories. It needs real victories now, as it over the next month must boost its RPI about 10 spots to get it into comfortable at-large position for the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks have a huge week at home, starting Tuesday against Oregon State and then this weekend welcoming Utah to PK Park.

7. Speaking of Utah, the Utes (29-13, 14-7) are tied with Arizona atop the Pac-12 standings. They this weekend swept UCLA for the first time in program history and have won eight of their last 11 games.

Utah won the opener, 3-2, in 12 innings behind excellent work from Bryson Van Sickle (7.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K) and Randon Hostert (4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K). It won Saturday, 7-3, getting more strong work on the mound from Merit Jones (6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K), Jackson Elder (2 IP, 0 R) and Micah Ashman (1 IP, 0 R). Sunday was a more offensive affair, as Utah jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back on the way to a 12-7 victory.

At 29 wins, Utah has already won more games in a season than it has since 2011 and now is on the cusp of its first 30-win season since 2002 (the Utes won 33 games that year). It also can be dreaming of an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since 2016 and the program’s first at-large appearance in the modern era of the tournament. The Utes still have work to do, starting with a tough series in Eugene this weekend. But for now they can enjoy the view from the top of the Pac-12 standings.

8. The Red River Rivalry series between Oklahoma and Texas had one of the stranger finishes to a weekend series that you’ll see. The teams were forced to play a doubleheader Sunday because of poor weather Saturday. The Sooners won Friday’s opener, 9-4, and the Longhorns won the first game Sunday, 8-6.

That set the stage of a rubber game in the nightcap, which proved to be a wild affair. The teams traded blows for seven innings, with Texas always in the lead but Oklahoma constantly punching back and keeping the game tight. The Longhorns led 12-10 in the top of the eighth inning when lightning sent the game into a delay, just after 8:30 p.m. CT. The teams waited about 90 minutes before the game was called, giving Texas a massive series win.

“It’s an unfortunate way for the series to end that way between two competitive baseball teams fighting for the top of the conference,” Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson said. “It’s never what you want to have a game not decided on the field.”

9. It’s not what you want from a rivalry series – or any series. But it goes into the record book all the same for Texas (27-18, 13-8). The Longhorns have won three straight series since losing at home to BYU and are two games behind the first-place Sooners in the Big 12 standings. Their RPI still needs work over the next month, but they continue to make solid progress toward the NCAA Tournament.

It’s never easy for Texas. The Longhorns have lost their last seven series openers, constantly putting themselves behind the eight ball. But nearly every weekend, they find a way to win the series. On Sunday in Norman, they did it with the long ball. They homered six times in the nightcap, tying a program record, which they had last reached…on Tuesday in an 11-0 victory against Texas-Arlington. They also got some solid relief pitching on the day, particularly in the first game, when Chase Lummus and Gage Boehm combined to hold the Sooners to two runs in six innings.

Texas doesn’t have much margin for error in the final month of the season, but they’ve been operating on that same fine line for a few weeks already and haven’t cracked. They’re not an easy team to figure out, but they’re also not an easy team to beat.

10. Oklahoma (26-16, 15-6) remains in first place in the Big 12 but missed an opportunity this weekend. The Sooners saw their lead cut to one game by Oklahoma State and West Virginia, and both teams hold the tiebreaker on them.

Oklahoma has just one home series left (Baylor) with series at Texas Tech and Cincinnati bookending it. Would 6-3 in that stretch be enough to hold off the Cowboys and Mountaineers (who also both have two road series left)? Anything less feels like it would result in the Sooners getting caught.

Oklahoma has never won the Big 12 – its last regular-season conference title came in 1995, when the conference was still the Big Eight. They’re in the driver’s seat to win the conference title in their final season in the league, but it won’t be easy.

11. Mississippi State made its biggest statement of the season this weekend in Nashville. The Bulldogs had been tracking toward the NCAA Tournament but were doing so more by holding serve – they’ve won all their home series and haven’t been swept this season – than by taking the bull by the horns. That changed Sunday with an 8-7 victory in a rubber game at Vanderbilt.

After winning, 7-4, on Saturday, Mississippi State came out hot Sunday to take a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning. But the Commodores punched back and evened the score with a six-run sixth and then pushed ahead with a run in the seventh. It looked like Mississippi State was on its way to another tough road series loss, as Vanderbilt pitchers had retired eight straight hitters going into the ninth.

That streak ended when David Mershon singled with one out in the inning, putting the tying run on base for the heart of the lineup. Dakota Jordan struck out for the second out of the inning, but Hunter Hines jumped on a 1-0 pitch and blasted it out to right field for a two-run, go-ahead home run. Righthander Tyson Hardin threw a scoreless ninth to close out the win.

The Bulldogs (29-15, 12-9) have responded strongly after losing the rivalry series at Mississippi. They’ve won seven of their last eight games, including a couple late comebacks to get crucial SEC wins. Coach Chris Lemonis said the Bulldogs are learning how to win.

“They believe,” he said. “Just being able to stay in the game and grind it out and even in that game, you can tap out in that game after they core seven runs and feel sorry for yourself.”

Mississippi State has another big week ahead, as it on Wednesday faces Ole Miss in the Governor’s Cup in Pearl, Miss., and then host Alabama on the weekend. They’re not out of the hosting mix, though their closing slate – Alabama, at Arkansas, Missouri – and their current RPI (28), mean it won’t be easy. But the Bulldogs are fighting hard and seemingly finding form at the right time.

12. Army this weekend hosted Navy in one of the best rivalries in college sports and a battle between the top two teams in the Patriot League. The series turned out to be one of the best of the weekend and came down to the very end, when the Black Knights won Sunday’s rubber game, 7-6, on a walk-off hit from Derek Berg.

The teams split shutouts the first two days of the series, with Army winning Friday, 1-0. Army’s Justin Lehman (9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K) outdueled Navy’s Tyler Grenn (8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 0 K) and the Black Knights scratched out the game’s only run on a squeeze bunt. Saturday’s game was nearly as well pitched, with Matthew Shirah (5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K) and Nolan Jorgenson (4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K) combining for a shutout for the Midshipmen. That set the stage of Sunday’s rubber game, which saw four lead changes and the Black Knights push ahead for the final time with two runs in the ninth.

Army (25-18, 14-7) is eyeing its third straight Patriot League regular-season title and now needs just one win next weekend (the final weekend of the Patriot League’s regular season) to clinch the title. Navy (25-19, 15-10) is one game behind Army in the standings but can only sit and watch, as its Patriot League season is complete. The Black Knights finish next week with doubleheaders against Lehigh and Lafayette.

13. No team had a worse week than Coastal Carolina (27-17, 11-10). The Chanticleers had an ambitious schedule, as they traveled to Creighton for a pair of games Tuesday and Wednesday before returning home to take on Troy. Coastal went 0-5 on the week, losing a couple close games in Omaha (including an extra-innings walk-off Wednesday) before getting swept by Troy. It didn’t hold a lead in the series after the sixth inning Friday and got run ruled, 15-3, in seven innings in the finale.

The Chanticleers’ willingness to play those games against the Bluejays should be applauded and they did help Coastal’s strength of schedule (10th and No. 2 non-conference). But strength of schedule is pretty far down the list of criteria the selection committee looks at when awarding host sites. Coastal started the week in the top 15 of RPI and coming off a huge series win against Louisiana. After that series, it was in a strong position to host regionals. Now, the Chanticleers are left to scramble, and this weekend face a challenging, suddenly crucial trip to Southern Miss (27-17, 12-9). It’s not over yet for Coastal but it needs a response in Hattiesburg.

14. San Diego swept Gonzaga in a battle for first place in the West Coast Conference. The Bulldogs struck first, scoring three runs in the first inning Friday. But it was all Toreros from there, as USD outscored Gonzaga, 38-3, the rest of the weekend. It finished the sweep with an emphatic 19-0 drubbing Sunday. Shortstop Justin DeCrisco led the way, going 7-for-10 with six runs on the weekend.

San Diego (30-12, 14-4) has won eight straight games and is into the top 30 in RPI. It is very much trending toward an NCAA Tournament berth for the second time in three seasons under coach Brock Ungricht, which would be its best run since making six tournaments in eight seasons from 2006-13.

15. Columbia clinched the Ivy League title with a sweep of Cornell, finishing it off with a 14-0 victory Sunday. It is the Lions’ second title in three seasons and fifth since 2013. By virtue of winning the regular-season title, they will also host the Ivy League Tournament.

Columbia (23-14, 15-3) has won eight straight games and 20 of their last 23 to help them open a four-game lead on second-place Princeton. The Lions host the Tigers next weekend to close out the regular season.

Eight for Omaha

Arkansas, Clemson, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Wake Forest

Two changes to the field this week, as North Carolina and Oklahoma State enter, and Kentucky and Oklahoma exit. The Tar Heels are tracking toward a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament and are 26-2 in Boshamer Stadium. They have some youth on the mound but they’re really hard to beat in Chapel Hill and look like they’ll have homefield advantage in the tournament. Kentucky, meanwhile, has had a couple tough weekends and while the Wildcats are tough to beat at home (17-4) and also tracking toward a top-eight seed, I just feel a bit better about the Tar Heels right now.

My flip from the Sooners to the Cowboys comes down to my greater belief in Oklahoma State against top-end competition. As I’ve said repeatedly in this space, the Big 12 has sent a team to the College World Series every year for a decade. So, I feel like I have to include one in my field. And Oklahoma State has most consistently shown the ability to beat quality competition. The Cowboys are 8-9 in quadrant 1 games, mark that includes a win against Arkansas, a series win at West Virginia and a 3-1 record against Oklahoma. That’s the kind of competition they’ll be facing in the NCAA Tournament.

Just outside the field is Florida State. If the Seminoles get healthy on the mound, look out.

Looking Ahead

No. 9 Kentucky hosts No. 2 Arkansas in a showdown of the SEC’s division leaders. First place in the SEC is on the line in Lexington, as the Wildcats (33-9, 16-5) take on the Razorbacks (37-7, 16-5). Both hold a one-game lead in their respective divisions with Tennessee and Texas A&M hot on their heels. While this weekend has plenty of implications in the SEC title race, it’s probably a bigger series for Kentucky, which has lost back-to-back series and will be looking to use its homefield advantage for its biggest series win yet.

Southern Miss hosts Coastal Carolina in crucial Sun Belt series. The Golden Eagles (27-17, 12-9) and Chanticleers (27-17, 11-10) are coming off tough series losses and are looking to shore up their NCAA Tournament resumes. Southern Miss is dangerously close to the bubble with an RPI of 46, while Coastal is trying to get back into the hosting mix and stay above .500 in conference play. Southern Miss’ homefield advantage could play a key role, as the Golden Eagles are 18-5 in Pete Taylor Park, while the Chanticleers are 6-9 away from home.

Kansas State hosts Kansas in Sunflower State classic. This is the biggest meeting between the in-state rivals in several years, as the Wildcats (26-17, 10-11) and Jayhawks (25-15, 12-9) are both fighting for spots in the NCAA Tournament race. Kansas has won six straight games and 10 of its last 11, while K-State is coming off a tough series loss at TCU. This is the start of a critical stretch run for both teams.