Off The Bat: Arkansas, Texas Tech Pass Tests

HOUSTON—Arkansas and Texas Tech both came into this season with questions to answer. The Razorbacks made it to the College World Series last season, but had to move on without College Player of the Year Andrew Benintendi, the seventh overall pick in the draft. The Red Raiders made it to Omaha themselves in 2014, but stumbled last year and missed out on the NCAA Tournament completely.

After cruising through the opening week of the season, Arkansas and Texas Tech arrived at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in Houston this weekend with a chance to prove themselves in an elite early-season tournament.

Both teams passed the early-season test. Arkansas swept its three games to stay undefeated, beating Rice, No. 9 Houston and Texas Tech. And though Texas Tech squandered an early lead and lost Sunday’s finale to Arkansas, 10-6, it scored a pair of solid wins, upsetting Houston and No. 10 Louisiana-Lafayette.

For Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, the tournament was an opportunity to evaluate a revamped lineup against quality competition.

“We got a lot of new players with our team down here on our roster, 17-18 new guys,” Van Horn said. “A lot of young guys that got a real good sense of how good the competition is, especially down here. I think we grew up a lot as a team this weekend.”

Arkansas shortstop Michael Bernal was named Most Outstanding Player of the event after going 4-for-12 with three home runs and five runs in three games. The senior is off to a hot start this season, hitting .345/.406/.862 with four home runs.

Bernal is just one of several players the Razorbacks are looking to provide more offensively this season.

“We just told our guys we just need to pass it around a little bit,” Van Horn said. “Somebody’s going to have a big weekend, somebody’s going to have a big midweek. Last year it was really a few guys. We tried to have a deeper lineup. There’s just a lot more balance in the lineup.”

Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock said the Red Raiders aren’t going to get caught up in rankings or how good their opponents are. He said his team just likes to play baseball and wants to focus on doing that.

“We’re going to show up and play and we’re not looking at all that stuff,” Tadlock said. “We’re going to show up and compete. The biggest thing is we’re going to try to prepare the right way, we’re going to try to play the game the right way.”

Gators Weather The Hurricanes

With its series at No. 6 Miami knotted at one game apiece, top-ranked Florida on Sunday turned to righthander Alex Faedo. While Faedo follows two Preseason All-Americans and likely first-round picks in the Gators rotation, the sophomore cannot be overlooked.

Against Miami, Faedo showed why. He shut down the Hurricanes’ powerful offense for 6 1/3 innings, holding them hitless and striking out a career-high 12 batters. Coach Kevin O’Sullivan said it was the best Faedo had pitched in a competitive game.

The Gators backed Faedo’s gem with seven runs, and withstood a ninth-inning Hurricanes rally to win, 7-3, and claim the series. Florida has won the regular-season series in six of the last seven years.

“It’s always good to win the series,” Faedo said. “Obviously we were hoping for a sweep, but I felt the whole team played well. All around, the pitching was good. It’s really easy when the offense gives us seven runs of run support.”

O’Sullivan said Faedo was throwing his fastball 92-97 mph and effectively mixed in his changeup and slider. Faedo said the key was locating his fastball and then getting the Hurricanes to chase his slider.

“(I was) not trying to overpower them because they’ve got big bats,” he said. “Try to get my fastball in on them early and locate that well. Don’t miss up with the breaking ball, make them swing and chase after it.”

For more than six innings Miami had no answer for Faedo. But even with a no-hitter going, O’Sullivan wasn’t about to extend his starter. So after 93 pitches and 6 1/3 innings, Faedo handed the ball off to the bullpen. Lefthander Kirby Snead followed with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 hitless innings of his own.

The combined no-hit bid ended in the ninth inning, however, when Miami first baseman Christopher Barr singled against righthander Shaun Anderson. Miami got three runs (two earned) against Anderson, before righthander Dane Dunning came on to retire the final two hitters and close out the victory.

O’Sullivan said he didn’t manage any differently with the no-hitter in play. He said he needed to get Anderson into the game because he hadn’t pitched all weekend.

“It was no second thought to me,” O’Sullivan said. “They need to pitch.”

Florida got exceptional pitching to bookend the series, with Faedo on Sunday and righthander Logan Shore throwing a four-hit shutout Friday. Shore struck out eight and walked none, in what O’Sullivan called his best start. And while Puk wasn’t quite as good Saturday (2.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), O’Sullivan said his stuff was fine, he just fell behind in the count too often.

Faedo said the starters feed off each other and he watched the video of Shore’s start to prepare for his own.

“He attacked more with his fastball than I did today,” Faedo said. “I remember him telling me that he didn’t think his fastball was overpowering, but he was locating well. He did good job preparing me.”

Though it is still February and only so much can be drawn from a series on the second weekend of the season, Florida passed its first big test of the year. O’Sullivan said he puts more stock into how the Gators played and how they handled certain situations than the results from the series, and he was pleased with what he saw.

“I thought the series itself, being at Miami, a quality opponent and the crowd’s into it, brought out the best in us,” O’Sullivan said. “I think it got us back to being more grounded. It was a rivalry weekend, so the focus is on playing well against Miami and not all the other things that have been thrown at them in the last few months.”

Mississippi Hangs Tough, Upsets Louisville

No. 21 Mississippi and No. 2 Louisville split the first two games of their series, with the Rebels taking advantage of some control problems from righthander Kyle Funkhouser on Friday and the Cardinals riding another masterful start by lefthander Brendan McKay on Saturday.

Louisville got an ideal start to Sunday’s rubber match, as Preseason All-American outfielder Corey Ray hit a leadoff home run, and it added another run in the top of the first inning. But Mississippi took the punch in stride. The Rebels scored three runs in the third inning, and went on to defeat the Cardinals 4-2 and clinch a big series victory.

Mississippi has now won three straight series against top-two teams. Last year, it claimed series against Vanderbilt and Florida when they were ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

Coach Mike Bianco said he talked to his team about not getting down after Louisville took the lead.

“You can’t let one moment in one game change how you feel about yourself,” Bianco said. “That’s not the way you draw it up, to go out on Sunday and fall behind 2-0 in first.”

The Rebels ground out three runs in the third to edge into the lead, and sophomore first baseman Will Golsan hit his first career home run in the sixth to provide an insurance run. Closer Wyatt Short nailed down the final five outs for his third save of the year.

Bianco said while much can change over the course of the year, but he was pleased with what the series said about where his team is right now.

“I liked where we didn’t play our best baseball and were able to compete with one of best teams in the country,” Bianco said. “I thought we were outstanding on the mound this weekend. We showed our young arms can pitch against what I think is a really good offense. We have a lot of games in front of us, but it was good to finish off with a win, for sure.”

The series also brought together Bianco and Louisville coach Dan McDonnell, close friends and former colleagues. Before taking the job at Louisville, McDonnell spent six years on Mississippi’s staff serving as Bianco’s recruiting coordinator.

Bianco said McDonnell spoke to Mississippi’s booster club on Thursday and the two coaches and their families ate dinner together Saturday. Bianco said he is proud of what his former assistant has done at Louisville.

“He’s built a monster up there,” Bianco said. “They just win year in and year out. To coach against him—we both want to win and we both want to compete, but there’s respect on both sides.”

After this weekend, the all-time record between Bianco and McDonnell is tied at five wins apiece.

Eight for Omaha

Each week, I’ll update my projected College World Series field based on the latest week’s games.

California, Florida, Louisville, Miami, Oregon State, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Virginia: Through two weeks, I’m still not ready to make any changes, though what Texas Christian showed in the Shriners College Classic was tempting. But for now I’ll stick with the same eight, even after Louisville, Miami and Virginia all lost series. Virginia’s home series loss to East Carolina is slightly disconcerting, but I’ve been taking a long view with the Cavaliers all along. There are new pieces that have to be incorporated, but I trust that by May, coach Brian O’Connor will have it figured out. Louisville and Miami both lost series to ranked opponents, but there’s no shame in losing two-out-of-three at Mississippi or to Florida.

Eye-Catchers

Five players or programs who stood out this weekend.

East Carolina: The Pirates made the NCAA Tournament last year in coach Cliff Godwin’s first season at the program’s helm, and they are off to a good start in 2016. East Carolina beat Virginia twice on the road this weekend to improve to 6-1. The Pirates look like they’ll again be contenders in the American Athletic Conference.

Fresno State: The Bulldogs are 8-0 for the first time since 1975, thanks in large part to a pitching staff that has a 1.38 ERA in 72 innings. Fresno State swept Youngstown State in a four-game series this weekend, following its sweep of Creighton on opening weekend and a midweek victory against Oakland.

John Jones, c, South Carolina: Jones had a perfect weekend at the plate, as South Carolina swept Penn State. He went 8-for-8 with six walks, becoming the first Gamecock since at least 1997 to start three games in a series and post a 1.000 on-base percentage. Jones, a transfer from the State JC of Florida, is hitting .593/.694/.963 with three home runs in eight games this season.

Kyle Nowlin, of, Eastern Kentucky: The senior hit three home runs Sunday in Eastern Kentucky’s 6-4 victory against South Dakota State. It was the fourth time in his career that he hit three home runs in one game. Nowlin is hitting .303/.385/.848 with five home runs this season.

Tennessee hitters: Everyone knew Volunteers third baseman Nick Senzel could hit. But the Tennessee offense is showing it’s more than just the Preseason All-American. The Volunteers scored 51 runs in three games this weekend in the Grand Canyon Classic and will go into Wednesday’s home opener hitting .359/.444/.515 as a team.

Looking Ahead

Three weekend series we’re most excited for:

California at Texas: After losing a close opening series at Duke, California got back on track back at home. Now, the Golden Bears are going back on the road. Texas has a 4-3 record after splitting a home series to Stanford, the other Pac-12 Bay Area school.

Clemson vs. South Carolina: These two teams didn’t enter the year ranked in the Top 25, but that won’t take anything away from one of college baseball’s best rivalries. Clemson won last year’s series, 2-1, but South Carolina has had the upper hand in the last 10 years, holding a 25-13 advantage. But this begins a new era in the rivalry, as Monte Lee is in his first year as coach of the Tigers.

UC Santa Barbara at Oregon: UCSB lost a slew of talent to the draft last year, led by fourth-overall pick Dillon Tate. But the Gauchos have started strong, winning the Tony Gwynn Classic over the weekend. Now coach Andrew Checketts will take his team on the road to take on Oregon, where he spent three years as an assistant coach before going to UCSB.

Two weekend tournaments you shouldn’t miss:

Dodger Stadium Classic: The seventh edition of the tournament brings in four teams that were ranked in the preseason Top 25, with Mississippi State and Oklahoma journeying to Los Angeles to face UCLA and Southern California. It is sure to draw a plethora of scouts with hard-throwing righthanders Dakota Hudson (Mississippi State) and Alec Hansen (Oklahoma) coming west. None of the teams has gotten off to as hot a start as they would have liked, so the weekend could be a good early-season barometer.

Keith LeClair Classic: Named for the former East Carolina coach who died in 2006 after diagnosed with ALS, the tournament features a strong field this year. Host ECU is coming off a series win at Virginia, while Southeastern Louisiana is the preseason favorite in the Southland Conference. Maryland and Tennessee both feature a Preseason All-American, and the Friday showdown between Terrapins righthander Mike Shawaryn—who was very sharp Friday with eight one-hit innings against Rhode Island—and Senzel will be a big draw for scouts.

One midweek game to keep an eye on:

Coastal Carolina at College of Charleston (Wednesday, 5 p.m. ET): The two will meet Wednesday for the first of four midweek games this season. Though it’s a short drive south for the Chanticleers, it will be their first road game of the year. The Cougars will be looking to bounce back after losing a series at Florida State.