Off The Bat: Auburn Upsets LSU, Stanford Lands Knockout Punch

Here are 14 takeaways from the weekend that was around college baseball.

1. For the first 11 weeks this season, no team had been able to unseat No. 1 LSU. The Tigers were the top-ranked team in the Preseason Top 25 and held that ranking longer into the season than any team since 2013 North Carolina.

This weekend, however, Auburn knocked off LSU. LSU took the first game, 3-0, behind another masterful start from ace Paul Skenes. Auburn evened the series with a wild, back-and-forth, 8-6 win Saturday. In Sunday’s finale, Auburn gave LSU a taste of its own medicine, beating it 12-2 in eight innings in the finale.

Auburn’s pitching staff has not been its strength all season. It came into the weekend with a 6.38 team ERA, 13th in the SEC. Tasked with facing the best lineup in the country in LSU, which was averaging 10 runs per game, it seemed like a poor matchup for Auburn. But Auburn (27-19-1, 11-13) was coming off a strong series at South Carolina, where it held the Gamecocks to 16 runs in three games, the best any team had done against South Carolina since February.  

Against LSU, Auburn’s pitching staff did even better. LSU scored 11 runs on the weekend, its lowest output of the season, on 23 hits. Sunday’s duo of Christian Herberholz (5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and Drew Nelson (3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) combined to hold LSU to its least runs in a game this season.

Auburn’s not running out a conventional pitching staff. Ace Joseph Gonzalez has been out injured since Opening Weekend. Only Tommy Vail (4-1, 3.68) and Herberholz (1-3, 4.37) have thrown more than 40 innings this season. But head coach Butch Thompson and pitching coach Daron Schoenrock have found a formula that works and have helped the staff improve this spring.

“I’ll say it again, players are allowed to get better,” Thompson said. “If you keep encouraging them and then you give them tough love and then you give them a chance to circle back around.”

2. It wasn’t that long ago that Auburn’s NCAA Tournament chances appeared to be slipping away. It went 5-10 in the first half of conference play and two weeks ago, facing a rubber game against Mississippi State, the Tigers fell behind 7-0 after three innings and trailed, 9-3, after five. But the Tigers rallied and walked off with a 12-11 victory that, looking back on it, may well have kickstarted a stretch run.

Auburn went to South Carolina the following weekend and won a series, becoming the first team this season to beat the Gamecocks in a series at Founders Park (and just the second team all year to win even a game there). They followed that up with the biggest series win of the season, taking down LSU.

Now, Auburn has completely flipped its postseason hopes (it’s not locked in yet, but just splitting its final six games against Mississippi and Missouri should be enough) and it owns two of the best series wins of any team in the country. The Tigers are hitting their stride at the right time.

Thompson said he’s happy with the way Auburn is playing. Now, the challenge is to keep themselves at this level the rest of the season.

“I don’t need more, I need the same,” Thompson said. “This place where we’re at right now is good enough to beat anyone in America. Therefore, we shouldn’t (be) trying to stretch and grab something else and we shouldn’t be letting off the gas and we shouldn’t be patting ourselves on the back. We should be preparing for Tuesday (against Samford).”

3. Consistent success in baseball is hard to come by. Teams don’t go undefeated and there’s a reason why teams don’t go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the Top 25. So, LSU’s first series loss of the year is no reason for panic.

But there are still reasons for some concern, most notably on the mound, where LSU’s depth has been reduced by injuries and it is looking for some answers. Skenes (9-1, 1.73) is the best pitcher in the country. Righthander Ty Floyd (6-0, 4.86) has been solid as a No. 2 starter, though he didn’t get out of the fourth inning in Saturday’s weird game.

Beyond them, however, LSU (37-10, 16-7) is still seeking some answers on the mound. With Garrett Edwards and Chase Shores out with Tommy John surgery, the bullpen is down two of its biggest arms. Lefthander Nate Ackenhausen (2-0, 2.25) missed some time earlier this year due to a hamstring injury but has been good when available. Righthander Thatcher Hurd (2-1, 5.94) has earned a save in each of the last two weekends and could be an answer for the bullpen. Righthander Gavin Guidry (3-0, 3.00) has stepped up lately.

LSU’s lineup means its pitching staff doesn’t have to be elite. But with high-end pitchers like Edwards, Shores and Grant Taylor sidelined, the Tigers need to find a couple more pitchers they can lean on consistently.

Ultimately, this is still a team that can win the national championship and it has a chance to get right this week at home against Northwestern State and Mississippi State. But the Tigers do have some things to work on in the final few weeks before the NCAA Tournament begins.

4. With LSU falling from the No. 1 ranking, Wake Forest (39-7, 18-5) takes over atop the Top 25. The Demon Deacons won a series against Boston College, again getting great pitching in their two wins. Righthander Rhett Lowder (7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K) led the effort in a 6-0 shutout Friday and lefthander Josh Hartle (7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K) shone in Sunday’s 4-2 clincher.

Wake is now No. 1 for the first time in the 43-year history of the Baseball America Top 25. The Deacs are also tracking toward being the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament thanks to their position atop the ACC standings and their lofty RPI (No. 2, trailing only Kentucky). They have more wins than any team in the nation and they could this weekend wrap up their first ACC regular season title since 1963.

It’s been a special season for Wake and it’s not close to done yet. The Deacs are playing as well as they have all season long and look primed to finish the season strong with a trip to Florida State and a series at home against Virginia Tech left on the slate.

5. College baseball on Thursday was rocked when Alabama fired coach Brad Bohannon amid an investigation into suspicious gambling. It was the sport’s biggest bombshell since North Carolina State was removed from the 2021 College World Series due to Covid-19 protocols.

Despite the turmoil, the Crimson Tide responded on the field this weekend with a big series win against Vanderbilt. Alabama and Vanderbilt split the first two games before the Tide edged past the Commodores, 2-1, in Saturday’s finale. Catcher Mac Guscette, who last Sunday collapsed on the field after being hit in the throat by a pitch, hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning for the Tide.

Alabama (32-16, 11-13) finished a surreal week with their best and most important series win of the season. With series at Texas A&M and home against Mississippi, the Crimson Tide are likely just a couple wins away from securing an NCAA Tournament berth.

Alabama did it on the strength of its pitching staff, which held Vanderbilt to seven runs on the weekend. Luke Holman (7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K) and Jacob McNairy (6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K) delivered quality starts to bookend the series and the Tide’s bullpen held the Commodores to four hits in eight scoreless innings on the weekend. With pitching coach Jason Jackson now leading the team as interim head coach, it was a banner series.

6. Vanderbilt (34-13, 17-7) has now lost back-to-back road series against Tennessee and Alabama and scored 16 runs in those six games. Is that a coincidence, a couple of bad matchups or a worrying trend?

Against Alabama, much of Vanderbilt’s issues stemmed from it not getting much from the bottom of the lineup. The Commodores first three hitters—Enrique Bradfield Jr., Davis Diaz and RJ Schreck—went a combined 11-for-33 with three doubles and a home run against Alabama. The rest of the Commodores combined to go 8-for-62 with a home run.

That hasn’t been a consistent issue this season or even the last few weeks, but it was stark against the Crimson Tide as the Commodores struggled to bring in runners. Whatever the ultimate issues are, Vanderbilt must quickly find some answers as it this week travels to Florida. The Gators are 27-6 at home this season.

7. A week ago, Kentucky looked to be floundering. The Wildcats had been swept at Vanderbilt, their fourth straight series loss. After a promising start to the season, it looked like they might limp into the NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky this weekend turned that around, however, as it swept South Carolina. The Wildcats (33-13, 14-10) didn’t trail at the end of an inning all series and outscored the Gamecocks, 30-12.

Kentucky jumped all over South Carolina’s starters all weekend. The Wildcats scored 14 runs (12 earned) in 13 innings against the Gamecocks’ starters. Meanwhile, they got quality starts to bookend the weekend from Travis Smith (6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K) and Zack Lee (6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 12 K), helping them to play from in front. South Carolina is 26-4 when it scores first. Kentucky never allowed the Gamecocks the early game advantage they love.

The Wildcats’ big weekend has them back in the middle of the hosting race. They rank No. 1 in RPI and have already won 14 SEC games. At this point, that RPI won’t move much and if Kentucky can win just two more conference games (it closes at Tennessee and home against Florida) to secure a winning SEC record it seems like a clear host.

Not bad for a team that a week ago had some talking about whether it would be able to avoid spending May on the tournament bubble.

8. So much of life is timing, and college baseball is no different. A month ago, South Carolina was playing like the best team in the country. Today, it’s lost three of its last four series and five of its last seven games.

Injuries have taken their toll on the Gamecocks and just getting healthy is paramount to their postseason aspirations. The good news on that front is coach Mark Kingston said after Sunday’s game that all three of South Carolina’s injured infielders—second baseman Will McGillis, shortstop Braylen Wimmer and third baseman Talmadge LeCroy—hope to play next weekend. McGillis has been out for more than a month with a broken forearm, while Wimmer and LeCroy are dealing with hamstring injuries.

Getting any of that trio back this week would be a boost for South Carolina ahead of a difficult series at Arkansas.

9. This weekend featured a showdown for first place in the Pac-12 between Stanford and Arizona State. The Cardinal held a half-game edge on the Sun Devils going into the series at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, creating a big opportunity for both teams.

Stanford swept through the weekend, though the series was closer than that indicates. The Cardinal won, 8-6, in Friday’s opener, scoring three runs in the seventh to take the lead for good in a back-and-forth game. Saturday was another wild game, and the Cardinal scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning for a 12-11 victory. Sunday’s game had the biggest margin, as Stanford won, 9-4, but it didn’t put the game away until a four-run ninth gave it some breathing room.

Still, the result was clear, as Stanford (31-13, 18-6) came away with three big wins. The Cardinal now hold a 3.5-game lead on both Arizona State (29-18, 14-9) and Oregon State (33-14, 16-11). They look to be on their way to a second straight Pac-12 title.

Tommy Troy had an outstanding series for the Cardinal. He went 6-for-13 with three doubles, three homers (he homered in all three games) and seven runs. He’s now hitting .389/.468/.685 with 10 home runs and 13 stolen bases.

On a weekend when there were likely going to be a lot of runs scored, Stanford needed its top hitters to step up. Troy delivered in a big way for the Cardinal.

10. Arizona State has now lost back-to-back series and six of its last seven games. The Sun Devils were always in for a tough second half of conference play, with Oregon State, Oregon, Stanford, Southern California and UCLA stacked in five straight weeks. So, seeing ASU slip a bit hasn’t been surprising and isn’t necessarily troubling.

It is fair, however, to wonder what ASU will look like in the NCAA Tournament. It’s 5-13 against teams in the top 50 of RPI and its 6.09 team ERA ranks 10th in the Pac-12. Its offense can keep it in games as it averages 7.43 runs per game, but it’s hard to bludgeon your way out of a regional on the road. ASU is all but certain to be on the road to start the NCAA Tournament after this weekend. Its RPI is down to 40 and it would need to be near perfect the rest of the way to get into the hosting race.

11. UCLA (24-19-1, 10-12-1) took a brutal sweep at home against California. The Golden Bears came into the weekend last in the Pac-12 standings but didn’t trail until the fifth inning of the finale. And even that was short lived, as Cal retook the lead for good the very next inning.

The Bruins have dealt with a lot of injuries throughout the season. This weekend they were without center fielder Malakhi Knight and shortstop Cody Schrier and pitchers Charles Harrison, Luke Jewett and Alonzo Tredwell. But this was still a really tough home series loss for UCLA.

Since the conference expanded a decade ago, no Pac-12 team has gotten into the NCAA Tournament without a winning conference record. The Bruins RPI is now down to 60, so it’s unlikely they’re going to be given much leeway by the selection committee. With series against Oregon State and at Arizona State left on the schedule, UCLA is in must-win mode.

12. Going the other way is Clemson, which this weekend continued its surge with a sweep of Louisville. The Tigers (31-17, 14-10) have won five straight series and gone 15-4 since they were swept by Wake Forest at the end of March. That run has rocketed them up the ACC standings and now only the Demon Deacons have more ACC wins than the Tigers.

Clemson held Louisville to nine runs on 16 hits in the series and all three of its starters—Ethan Darden (6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K), Austin Gordon (6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K) and Caden Grice (6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K)—delivered a quality start. The bullpen held the Cardinals to three runs in 8.2 innings on the weekend.

The Tigers leap forward on the mound has turned them into one of the best teams in the ACC in coach Erik Bakich’s first season.

13. Houston took sole possession of first place in the American Athletic Conference with a two-game sweep of Wichita State (Sunday’s finale was rained out). The Cougars (28-19, 12-5) hold a half-game edge on East Carolina (34-14, 12-6) and a two-game lead on the Shockers (27-19, 10-7).

Houston opened the series with a 5-3 victory Friday, scoring four runs in the eighth inning to push past Wichita State. It clinched the series with a 7-5 victory Saturday.

The Cougars are now 6-2 this season against ECU and Wichita State, their two closest competitors in the American standings. With an RPI of 83, they’re still a longshot to get an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament but winning the conference title for the first time since 2018 would be a strong point in their favor. They’ll look to build on their momentum this weekend at Tulane.

14. Lipscomb made some noise to start the week with an 8-6 victory in 11 innings against Arkansas. But the Bisons weren’t done. They swept a weekend series against Kennesaw State, punctuated by a Sunday walkoff, and pulled even with Florida Gulf Coast atop the ASUN Conference standings.

After winning the first two games of the series, 2-1 and 8-3, Lipscomb and Kennesaw State were tied at three in the ninth inning Sunday. Will Lee opened the bottom half of the inning with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Kyle Hetherington. With two outs, Mason Lundgrin delivered the game-winning hit and Hetherington raced around to score from second base ahead of the throw home.

Lipscomb (27-21, 18-6) has won its first eight conference series, its best streak in 20 years as a Division I program. It will look to continue that momentum this week at Austin Peay State.

Eight for Omaha

Arkansas, Duke, Florida, LSU, South Carolina, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest

I’m not making any changes this week. Sure, four of those SEC teams lost and I have varying degrees of questions about all of them. But they were all on the road this weekend and it’s likely they’ll have homefield advantage in the postseason, at least for regionals. I’m also encouraged by the news that South Carolina is expecting to get its injured infielders back as soon as this weekend. So, for now, I’ll leave West Virginia just outside the field and stick with the same eight teams as I had a week ago.

Looking Ahead

No. 7 Florida hosts No. 3 Vanderbilt in pivotal SEC East series. The Commodores (34-13, 17-7) hold a two-game lead on the Gators (37-12, 15-9) in the division standings. If the Gators are going to catch them, they must win this weekend. This series also holds plenty of weight in the race for top-eight seeds in the NCAA Tournament. But it’s also simply a series between two really talented teams that are coming off tough weekends, Vanderbilt at Alabama and Florida at Texas A&M. In short, it should be another great edition of this rivalry.

The Big 12 race heats up with No. 15 Texas Tech traveling to No. 11 West Virginia and Kansas State visiting No. 20 Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers (36-12, 13-5) hold a two-game edge in the standings on the Wildcats (31-18, 11-7) and the Cowboys (33-14, 11-7). West Virginia has a tricky close to the season, starting this weekend with Texas Tech (32-16, 9-9) and then a trip to Texas (32-17, 12-9). This weekend won’t decide the title, but it will help separate the true contenders.         

First place on the line between No. 16 Dallas Baptist, No. 23 Texas-San Antonio. The Patriots (36-12, 20-4) hold a half-game lead on the Roadrunners (36-12, 19-4) in the Conference USA standings and will this weekend be going for the regular-season title in their first year in the league. UTSA, however, has homefield advantage and is 25-5 this season at Roadrunner Field. Not only are the teams competing for the conference title, but both are looking to bolster their NCAA Tournament resumes. DBU is looking to push toward hosting a regional, while UTSA is trying to shore up its at-large hopes.