Kentucky, Texas Claim Key Series Wins, Highlighting College Baseball’s Weekend (Off The Bat)

2. It was a tough weekend for Arkansas, which suffered from some familiar problems. Smith was excellent Friday night, as he struck out 14 batters in six innings and held Kentucky to one run on three hits and a walk. Will McEntire was solid behind him, throwing two scoreless innings, before Kentucky scored two garbage time runs in the ninth inning.

But after that game, things went sideways on the Razorbacks. Righthander Brady Tygart got knocked out in the fourth inning Saturday and the lineup wasn’t able to pick him up. Lefthander Mason Molina, who last week missed his start due to an ankle injury, threw three innings Sunday, giving up three runs. McEntire wasn’t as effective in his second outing of the weekend and gave up three runs in just .2 innings. That put the Razorbacks in a deep early hole and while the lineup made a push in the second half of the game, it wasn’t enough.

Peyton Stovall was excellent for Arkansas, going 7-for-15 with two doubles and a home run in the series and Hudson White went 5-for-10 with a double and a home run. The rest of the Razorbacks combined for 14 hits, only two of which went for extra bases. Arkansas’ offense ranks 12th in the SEC, averaging 6.8 runs per game.

Arkansas is still in fine shape moving forward. It needs more out of Tygart and Molina than it got this weekend, but they’ve delivered time and again this season. The Razorbacks are still 31-2 at Baum-Walker Stadium, where they’ll be playing in June. Tough weekend, but every team in the SEC except for Tennessee has lost two series this season.

3. Speaking of tough weekends, Texas A&M (40-8, 16-8) had one of its own. The Aggies lost their first series since March, as they lost the first two games of their series at LSU, both by 6-4 scores. A&M did bounce back Sunday to win 14-4, with its offense coming alive for 14 runs in the final five innings.

The two losses unfolded in relatively similar fashion. In both games, A&M took the early lead, but miscues allowed LSU to push ahead. The Aggies rallied, but ultimately fell short.

I don’t think this weekend exposed A&M in any real way. Yes, the Aggies made eight errors in four games this week, but they’re still fielding .979 as a team, fifth in the SEC. The pitching staff didn’t pick up its defense on this occasion, but it’s still a formidable, deep group. And for two days LSU largely contained the powerful A&M offense, but it had to pitch around a lot of traffic to do so (the Aggies had 11 hits on Friday night and on Saturday drew six walks).

A&M still looks like one of the very best teams in the country. Life on the road in the SEC is difficult, especially when you’re playing a team fighting for its postseason life. I wouldn’t worry about the Aggies unless any of this carries over to next weekend at Mississippi.

4. For LSU (31-18, 9-15), the importance of this series win can’t be overstated. The Tigers had won back-to-back SEC series but were still looking at a big mountain to climb to get their NCAA Tournament resume into a relatively comfortable position ahead of the SEC Tournament (a deep run in Hoover would change the calculus, but it’s not something any team wants to stake its regional hopes on).  

Now, the path to 13 SEC wins (generally the minimum threshold for teams to get NCAA Tournament bids) feels much more attainable as LSU travels to Alabama and finishes the season home against Mississippi.

LSU has pitched much better over the last three month, but this was probably its most impressive weekend on the mound yet (or, at least, its most impressive first 22 innings of a weekend). Starters Gage Jump (5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 4 K) and Luke Homan (5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 10 K) were solid. The bullpen combined to hold A&M to two runs in 7.2 innings over the first two games of the series, led by Griffin Herring (2.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) and Christian Little (3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K). LSU is still a little short on the mound, as Sunday showed. But the Tigers deserve a lot of credit for working through their mid-season issues to put themselves back in the mix in May.

5. With A&M losing, a new team had to rise to No. 1. That might have been Arkansas had it won its series at Kentucky. But with the Razorbacks’ loss, it truly cleared the runway for Tennessee to ascend to No. 1 for the first time since the end of the 2022 regular season.

The Volunteers (39-9, 17-7) this weekend won a series at Florida. After Thursday’s opener was rained out, the teams split a Friday doubleheader. That put extra pressure on Tennessee for Saturday’s rubber game, as Florida turned to Jac Caglianone. The Gators had lost just once this season in games he started on the mound and were in serious need of a series win to bolster their NCAA Tournament hopes.

Tennessee fell behind early, as Florida scored twice in the first inning and pushed the lead to 3-0 in the third. From there, however, it was all Vols. They scored twice in the fourth and then exploded for 11 runs in the sixth inning and went on to win, 16-3, in seven innings.

The Volunteers have lost just one series all season – on opening weekend of SEC play at Alabama in walk-off fashion. Otherwise, they’ve handled every challenge presented to them. Their pitching staff ranks second in the nation in ERA (3.84), behind only Arkansas, despite being without Opening Day starter AJ Russell for much of the season. They have the SEC’s best offense (9.88 runs per game) and while I would take Virginia’s lineup over Tennessee’s as best in the nation, I wouldn’t argue too strongly if you picked the Vols. They’re solid defensively (.979) and have shown they can win on the road (9-6 outside of Knoxville).

For the last couple weeks, I’ve touted Tennessee as my favorite to win the national title. Now, the Volunteers will get a brighter spotlight as the No. 1 team in the sport.

6. Georgia slugger Charlie Condon homered in all three games this weekend, as the Bulldogs swept Vanderbilt in Athens. The implications for Georgia (35-12, 13-11) are significant, as it is now trending toward hosting regionals. The Bulldogs need to just split their final six games (at South Carolina, Florida) to feel good about hosting, which would also be massive for their hopes of an NCAA Tournament run, as they’re 28-3 at home vs. 5-9 in road games.

But I want to focus on Condon, who has homered in seven straight games and on Sunday matched the 21st century single-season home run record, which he now jointly holds with Florida’s Jac Caglianone (2023) and Gonzaga’s Nate Gold (2002). Condon is now poised to break the record next weekend at South Carolina and can make a legitimate run at becoming just the fifth player in college baseball history to hit 40 home runs in a season.

Condon is averaging .70 home runs per game, meaning he needs to play 10 more games to hit that milestone. Georgia has six regular season games left and is assured at least one game in the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs are effectively a lock to make the NCAA Tournament with their 13 SEC wins and No. 5 RPI, which ensures two more games. That’s nine games that are all but guaranteed on the schedule. With just one postseason win – either in Hoover or in regionals – Georgia will get to the 10 games Condon needs at his current pace.

Can he maintain that outlandish pace down the stretch? I’m not betting against him. I think Condon will join Oklahoma State’s Pete Incaviglia (48, 1985), Florida State’s Jeff Ledbetter (42, 1982), Rice’s Lance Berkman (41, 1997) and LSU’s Brandon Larson (40, 1997) in the 40-homer club.

7. I’m nearly 2,000 words into this column and have only written about SEC baseball. So, let’s change gears and talk about a future SEC member. Texas won the first two games of its series against Oklahoma State, beating the Cowboys, 7-5 and 6-3. The Longhorns (30-19, 15-9) are now in second place in the Big 12, three games behind first-place Oklahoma.

Texas has shown all season long that it can hit. This series win was more about pitching, as it quieted an Oklahoma State lineup that came into the weekend averaging 8.1 runs per game. Righthander Max Grubbs (6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K) was solid on Friday night and led Texas to its first series-opening victory since March. Ace Whitehead, David Shaw, Cade O’Hara and Andre Duplantier II combined to hold the Cowboys to just five hits on Saturday to help the Longhorns clinch their fourth straight series win.

It’s been an impressive run for Texas. Its RPI was as north of 75 less than three weeks ago, following back-to-back losses to Texas-Rio Grande Valley and TCU. Since then, however, the Longhorns have won seven of their last nine games and vaulted to No. 51. They can’t afford to let their foot off the gas yet, as they’re being weighed down by eight quadrant four losses, more than any team in the top 100 of RPI.

But Texas has stacked a bundle of quality wins and seems to have hit its stride in the second half of the season. The Longhorns may not have the prettiest resume in the country, but they’re showing how dangerous they can be.

8. Oklahoma (29-17, 18-6) this weekend swept Texas Tech in Lubbock and has opened up a significant three-game lead in the Big 12 standings with six games to play. The Sooners’ magic number to win their first regular-season conference title since 1995 is four.

I’ve run hot and cold on the Sooners this season and was pretty down on them as recently as Wednesday. But they bounced back from a tough series loss at home to Texas last weekend and then a loss Tuesday at Oral Roberts to go on the road and become the first team to sweep Texas Tech in Lubbock since 2011.

I still find it odd that Oklahoma either sweeps Big 12 series (which it’s done five times) or loses them (which it’s done the other three times). But it’s a formula that seems very likely to deliver a conference title and a home regional to Norman.

9. Troy (34-15, 16-8) stayed red-hot and picked up another big Sun Belt series win, this time taking down first-place Louisiana. The Trojans shelled the Ragin’ Cajuns, 16-5, in seven innings on Friday and clinched the series with an 8-4 victory Saturday. They lost the finale, 14-13, in 10 innings, but nearly came away with the sweep, as they had the winning run on base in both the ninth and 10th innings.

Sunday’s loss kept Troy out of first place, two games behind Louisiana. But the Trojans are now 16-4 since losing a series at Southern Miss at the end of March. They’ve pushed their RPI into the top 50 and won five straight series. They certainly seem to be tracking toward the NCAA Tournament, which was far from a sure thing at the start of April, when their RPI was No. 113.

Kyle Mock led the way this weekend, going 7-for-11 with two doubles and two home runs. But it’s never just one person driving the lineup for Troy. It’s a deep group and averages 9.33 runs per game.

With just six games to go, it won’t be easy to track down Louisiana for the conference title. But the way Troy is playing, it wouldn’t be a shock if it caught the Cajuns.

10. Southern Miss (31-17, 15-9) bounced back from a tough series loss at Louisiana to go 4-0 this week, including a sweep of Coastal Carolina (27-20, 11-13).

The sweep was significant for the Golden Eagles, who are building a solid NCAA Tournament resume, but it was an even bigger result for the Chanticleers. Since its series win against Louisiana, Coastal has lost eight straight games, including back-to-back sweeps at the hands of Troy and Southern Miss. Its fallen below .500 in conference play, putting it into the NCAA Tournament danger zone, despite its strong RPI (No. 32).

Nothing has gotten away from Coastal yet, but it needs to right the ship immediately. It’s hard to imagine a Sun Belt team getting an at-large bid with a losing conference record, which is what it will have if it doesn’t go at least 4-2 in its final two conference series (Georgia State, at Marshall). After a tough couple weeks, Coastal has to finish strong.

11. On Friday night, I heaped praise on Purdue for opening its big, in-state rivalry series against Indiana with a 7-4 victory. The Boilermakers were in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten and were one more win on the weekend away from a significant series win.

Well, Indiana (27-19-1, 12-6) came back strong and won the series in West Lafayette. The Hoosiers on Saturday used two big innings to roll to a 10-2 victory and on Sunday scored four runs in the ninth inning to come back to win, 5-4, and clinch the series. Indiana used all 15 of its active position players in Sunday’s victory, as coach Jeff Mercer pushed every button available to pull out the comeback.

The Hoosiers are now part of a three-way tie for second place, one game behind first-place Illinois (28-16, 13-5). Their hopes for the Big Ten title and an NCAA Tournament appearance are very much alive with two weeks left in the regular season.

12. This weekend looked like an opportunity for UC Irvine to establish a firm hold on first place in the Big West standings and establish itself as a solid contender to host regionals. Following a win Tuesday at San Diego, the West Coast Conference leader, the Anteaters were up to No. 19 in RPI and were atop the conference standings. They were hosting Cal Poly, which was just off the pace in the Big West, but well out of NCAA Tournament contention due to a poor non-conference record (11-10).

Instead, it was the Mustangs (28-17, 17-7) who took advantage of the weekend. They erased an early deficit Friday night and scored six runs in the eighth inning for a 10-5 victory. After an extra-innings loss Saturday, they bounced back for an emphatic, 11-2 victory in Sunday’s rubber game behind first baseman Joe Yorke (3-for-5, HR) and reliever Josh Volmerding (5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K).

Cal Poly is now 1.5 games behind first-place UC Santa Barbara (31-12, 17-4), but it owns series wins against UCSB, UCI and Cal State Northridge, the three teams that are within three games of first place in the standings. That means the Mustangs own the tiebreaker over each of the other top Big West contenders, tiebreakers that could become critically important in a few weeks. The Big West is the only conference that awards its automatic NCAA Tournament bid to its regular-season champion and that’s Cal Poly’s only realistic path to the postseason due to its RPI (80), which is getting dragged down by a few bad losses. The Mustangs don’t have to win the league outright, giving them a leg up in the title race and a shot at their first regionals appearance since 2014.

13. St. John’s (31-11-1, 11-4) swept Creighton and in the process vaulted into the top 45 in RPI. In Saturday’s doubleheader sweep, the Red Storm got excellent pitching, as they held the Bluejays to three runs (two earned) on nine hits. Starters Mario Pesca (7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and Evan Chaffee (5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K) set the tone in both games.

St. John’s has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2018 but is in a solid position today. The Big East as a whole is in a strong position as well. UConn (27-19, 12-3) continued to roll and is in first place in the standings. Xavier (25-22, 9-6) got a huge sweep of Butler, which importantly pushed the Musketeers above .500 overall and into the top 30 in RPI. The conference looks like it’s headed to multi-bid status and three bids is very much on the table.

14. Oregon (32-15, 14-10) had a needed bounce back this week. After losing its rivalry series at Oregon State last weekend, the Ducks got their revenge on Tuesday in Eugene. They beat the Beavers, 9-5, and then carried that momentum into their weekend series against Utah, which came into the series in first place in the Pac-12. Oregon swept Saturday’s doubleheader, 7-5 and 5-1, before losing Sunday’s finale.

While the Ducks are disappointed not to have finished the sweep, they still got the kind of week they needed. After losing back-to-back series on the road, they got back to home cooking at PK Park and got back on track. The Pac-12 title race has probably slipped past them (they’re three games behind first-place Arizona), but they’re now in a solid position to build some momentum going into the postseason with series at Washington and against Washington State ahead.

15. In a battle of the top two teams in the Western Athletic Conference, Grand Canyon left no doubt against California Baptist. The Antelopes soundly swept the Lancers to take a commanding lead in the WAC standings.

GCU (29-18, 19-5) outscored CBU 34-4 on the weekend and never trailed. The Antelopes have won seven straight games, including a 24-8 romp against Arizona, the Pac-12 leader, on Tuesday. GCU has found its stride in the second half of the season and is 13-3 since losing a four-game series at Saint Mary’s in early April. That stretch includes going 3-1 against Pac-12 competition.

Eight for Omaha

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

I’m not making any changes this week. It wasn’t the best week for a few of these teams, but I’m not ready to elevate anyone to this level. Kentucky and Mississippi State very much have my attention, however.

Looking Ahead

No. 4 Clemson travels to No. 15 Wake Forest for an ACC showdown. The Tigers (36-10, 17-7) won another ACC series, pushing past Georgia Tech, and are tied with North Carolina in the conference title race. The Demon Deacons (32-16, 12-12) rolled through their conference bye week and now start a very challenging sprint to the finish. These are two of the most talented teams in the conference and that should make for an exciting series.

No. 14 Georgia visits No. 16 South Carolina in key SEC East battle. The Bulldogs (35-12, 13-11) and Gamecocks (32-15, 13-11) are tied in the SEC standings and this series could be critical in determining the pecking order for SEC hosts. As an added bonus, Georgia slugger Charlie Condon is one home run away from setting the 21st century single-season home run record. Can South Carolina stop him?

Louisiana Tech hosts Western Kentucky in first-place showdown. WKU (31-16, 13-5) holds a one-game edge on La Tech (35-15, 12-6) in the conference standings. The Bulldogs are coming off a tough series loss at New Mexico State but have home-field advantage and are 23-5 this season at Love Field. The Hilltoppers are trying to win their first conference title since 2009 and need a series win to remain in first place.