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College  | Story  | 4/2/2015

Weekend Preview: Week 8

Patrick Ebert      Jheremy Brown      Mike Rooney     
Photo: Don Liebig

National Notebook: March 31 | Midseason Awards | Projected Field of 64

With the Easter holiday on Sunday, most series across the nation will kick off on Thursday with the weekend slate effectively being bumped up a day. The marquee matchups for this weekend have a built-in marquee mound matchup including, with four of the better arms in two of the biggest national conferences taking the big stage.

The first will occur in Charlottesville when Nathan Kirby and No. 11 Virginia hosts Kyle Funkhouser and No. 7 Louisville. Their showdown may provide the heaviest group of scouts in any college baseball game this season. No. 6 UCLA hosts No. 14 Oregon State, with Friday starters James Kaprielian and Andrew Moore set to face one another on Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Both of these series, among others, are previewed in greater detail below.

Also, Perfect Game would like to thank Frankie Piliere for his passion for the game of baseball and hard work for over two years as he moves on to pursue another baseball opportunity at D1Baseball.com. When double checking the date in which we announced Frankie would be joining Perfect Game it stood out that it occurred on 12-12-12, so it's fitting that he began his new opportunity on April Fools' Day. While we look forward to the next calendar-based statistical oddity that occurs in Frankie's professional career path, here's a PG staff-wide tip of the cap to him as he begins his next chapter in baseball.

Top 25 in Action

Rk. Team Opponent Location
1 Texas Christian at Texas Tech Lubbock, TX
2 Louisiana State at Alabama Hoover, AL
3 Florida at Missouri Columbia, MO
4 Vanderbilt at Georgia Athens, GA
5 Texas A&M at Kentucky Lexington, KY
6 UCLA home vs. No. 14 Oregon State Los Angeles, CA
7 Louisville at No. 11 Virginia Charlottesville, VA
8 Florida State at N.C. State Raleigh, N.C.
9 Arizona State at Utah Salt Lake City, UT
10 Miami home vs. Duke Coral Gables, FL
11 Virginia home vs. No. 7 Louisville Charlottesville, VA
12 UCF at Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH
13 UC Santa Barbara home vs. Fresno State Santa Barbara, CA
14 Oregon State at No. 6 UCLA Los Angeles, CA
15 South Carolina at Mississippi State Starkville, MS
16 Southern California at No. 24 Arizona Tucson, AZ
17 Dallas Baptist at Missouri State Springfield, MO
18 North Carolina at Clemson Clemson, SC
19 Houston at Memphis Memphis, TN
20 Illinois home vs. Northwestern Champaign, IL
21 Nebraska at Maryland College Park, MD
22 California home vs. Washington State Berkeley, CA
23 Florida Atlantic home vs. Marshall Boca Raton, FL
24 Arizona home vs. No. 16 Southern California Tucson, AZ
25 Texas at Oklahoma State Stillwater, OK



Marquee Matchup #1:

No. 14 Oregon State at No. 6 UCLA

Like in all the big conferences, there’s no such thing as an “off weekend” where a team can jump on the field and expect an easy three-game set. Look no further than the weekend matchup between the Oregon State Beavers and the UCLA Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium as it’s sure to live up to, and possibly exceed expectations, given the overall depth of talent. Take a look at the current Pac-12 standings and the series has some implications at the top, granted we are still just halfway through the season. UCLA enters the weekend atop the Pac-12 standings with an 8-1 record while the Beavers aren’t too far behind at 4-2.

Take a quick look at the Oregon State roster and you’ll see that it’s littered with freshmen and sophomores. While most knew that the Beavers were going to be competitive even with a young roster, several players have stepped up and have continued to play like seasoned veterans since day one. Of course the two names that have been making the most noise are freshmen K.J. Harrison with the bat and Drew Rasmussen on the mound.

Recently named to the designated hitter position on the Perfect Game Midseason All-American Team, Harrison has continued to hit all season long and has done so with authority. Heading into the weekend the Hawaii native is leading the team in nearly every offensive category: average (.389), triples (3), home runs (7), RBI (32) and slugging percentage (.722). Not bad for his first year. Rasmussen has been equally as impressive on the mound, and since he’s made the transition into a weekend role from the backend of the bullpen he hasn’t looked back. Armed with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s throughout a game and has peaked as high as 97 mph in front of the Perfect Game staff, Rasmussen shows two above average off-speed pitches helping him to record 42 strikeouts in 47 innings while walking just nine.
Andrew Moore (Photo: Oregon State)

And by no means are these two youngsters carrying the team as the offense has six players who have started at least 14 games and are hitting over .300. Fleet footed center fielder Jeff Hendrix has been an extra-base machine this spring while the slick-fielding defensive wizard sophomore Trever Morrison shows strong barrels skills from the left side.

Freshman righthander Mitch Hickey is one of several power arms in the Beavers' arsenal as he and his mid-90s heater and vicious 12-to-6 breaker have slid right into the closer’s role without much debate. Righthander Travis Eckert has done nothing but win on Sundays, currently sitting with a 3-0 record and a 2.85 ERA.

If you’re keeping track of the players mentioned above you’ll notice only two of the three weekend starters for Oregon State were brought up. That’s because the Friday night matchup between junior aces Andrew Moore and the Bruins James Kaprielian deserved its own section. While the two may be friendly off the field after competing on the USA Collegiate National Team last summer together, both are fierce competitors and once the ump says “play ball” it’s time to go to work.

Moore might not show the same raw stuff on the mound as Kaprielian, but he’s a proven winner and has done nothing but solidify that notion in 2015. The same way that Harrison leads the offense in almost every offensive category, Moore does the same in terms of pitching. With a 2-1 record, Moore sports a 1.87 ERA with advance pitchability and command of a full arsenal, painting both corners of the plate with any pitch in any count. Over 53 innings Moore has walked just seven while striking out 47 batters, nearly a 7-to-1 ratio.

What was said about Moore being a proven winner also applies to the Bruins’ ace as Kaprielian continues to win throughout the 2015 campaign and is currently tied for the national lead with six victories. With a fastball that sits in the low-90s, touching higher in brief appearances, and a sharp, above average curveball, the strongly built 6-foot-4, 200-pound righthander absolutely pounds the strike zone. With an ERA of 2.35, Kaprielian has punched out more than a batter an inning while walking just nine in 46 innings pitched.

The similarities between the two clubs continue, as Kaprielian isn’t a one-man show on the mound during the weekend. Senior lefthander Grant Watson takes the ball on Saturdays and has been superb, leading the starters with a 1.76 over 41 innings, and as you might have guessed, he fills up the strike zone. The weekend rotation is rounded out by a stellar freshman of their own, righthander Griffin Canning, who made the jump from mid-week starter last weekend and has backed up the hype by striking out 45 and walking just four on his way to a 4-1 record.

It also doesn’t hurt to have one of the best collegiate closers of all time at the end of games in senior sidewinder David Berg. Just as he has done the first three years of his career, Berg is dominating once again already picking up six saves over 26 2/3 innings with a 1.35 ERA. Grant Dyer and Tucker Forbes have been just as effective out of the bullpen, making a combined 31 appearances while building a nice bridge to get to Berg.

The Bruins top four bats in terms of average have also been their top bats in terms of run production. Kevin Kramer has continued his torrid start, still hitting over .400 with a .410 average 26 games into the season and is second on the team with four home runs. Leading the long ball club is Chris Keck with six and he also leads the team with eight doubles and a .333 average. Junior outfielder Ty Moore is coming off a Pac-12 Player of the Week type performance after going 5-for-13 with nine RBI, raising his average up to a robust .384. Luke Persico rounds out the foursome, a sophomore infielder who is hitting .320 and has consistently reached base while putting out three balls out of his own.

Despite the amount of firepower on each offense, this series is going to come down to pitching, something both teams have plenty of, both in quantity and quality.



Marquee Matchup #2:

No. 7 Louisville at No. 11 Virginia

As noted above, this marquee matchup between two of the most talented teams in the ACC will be highlighted by the Friday night showdown between righthander Kyle Funkhouser and lefthander Nathan Kirby. The two of them have been written about frequently among the weekly and national notes, as they offer premier stuff with an competitive, aggressive approach.

Kyle Funkhouser (Photo: University of Louisville Sports Information)
Funkhouser has sat in the low-90s peaking at 95 mph in almost every start this season, and is coming off of particularly impressive back-to-back performances against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech.

Kirby has been nearly untouchable this season, and was recently named to Perfect Game's Midseason All-American Team for his early season dominance. Kirby, similar to Funkhouser, typically peaks at 94 mph and sits in low-90s with a nice overall repertoire that he commands extremely well. His presence, and performance, may personify the college baseball Friday ace more so than any other pitcher in the country.

Looking past the impact matchup in the first game of the series, there are several parallels to be drawn between the two coaches as well. Louisville skipper Dan McDonnell has made his impression from the moment he stepped on campus, guiding the Cardinals to Omaha three times, including his first year with the program in 2007.

Virginia Head Coach Brian O'Connor has also led his team to Omaha three times, finishing last year as the national runnner-up. His club has been bit hard by the injury bug this season, as Joe McCarthy has yet to play this year due to an ailing back, while John LaPrise was lost for the year after undergoing hip surgery.

Sophomore catcher Matt Thaiss is the name to watch on offense for the Cavaliers, who is hitting a team-high .347 with seven home runs and 27 RBI. To continue the theme of parallels between these two clubs, sophomore outfielder Corey Rays has also enjoyed a breakout season (.314-4-27) and has helped pace the offense in recent weeks.

Freshman two-way sensation Brendan McKay has buckled down the Saturday starter job for Louisville, and sophomore lefthander Josh Rogers has been sharp over the last month of the season. Those two will face live-armed sophomore Connor Jones and crafty lefty Brandon Waddell in what looks to be a very evenly matched series.



National Notes:

• As reported on Wednesday Duke righthander Michael Matuella will miss the remainder of the season and will undergo Tommy John surgery. Matuella entered the season as a candidate to go with the first overall pick in this year's draft, but this development continues to cloud what is already a mirky 2015 MLB Draft class.

• There are three series this weekend in which we could see the two teams playing each other flip-flop in the rankings come Monday. The first of which is the most obvious, with No. 25 Texas travelling to Oklahoma State to take on the 19-9 Cowboys. Oklahoma State has won 11 of their last 14 games, including taking a pair from now No. 1 TCU two weekends ago.

Maryland, who have been pushed into PG's Top 25 rankings twice this year, only to be quickly removed twice this year, will look to prove they belong to stay as they host No. 21 Nebraska. The Huskers and their deep stable of arms will look to slow a fast-paced offense, while Mike Shawaryn facing Chance Sinclair provide one of the better Friday night matchups in the Big Ten this season.

Last but not least No. 24 Arizona hosts No. 16 Southern California in what likely will provide a good lithmus test for just how good these two teams are. The Wildcats are all about offense, with two regulars hitting over .400 (Scott Kingery and Kevin Newman) and four others hitting above .300. Power isn't a big part of their offense, but speed is, with 40 stolen bases. While USC can swing the bats as well, they'll stack their big three weekend arms – Brent Wheatley, Kyle Twomey and Mitch Hart – against Arizona's offense in a classic Pac-12 battle.

• Arizona State has been firing on all cylinders throughout the 2015 season and it looked like they took the next step forward last weekend, sweeping Pac-12 foe Stanford in a three-game set. Well, last night against New Mexico State Coach Tracy Smith’s Sun Devils received another shot in the arm, getting several strong performances from arms who have seen limited innings to this point in the year.

Starting the game was junior right-hander David Graybill, who before Tuesday night had thrown just 1/3 of an inning this spring due to recovering from an injury. The 6-foot-5 Graybill faced the minimum last night, allowing just a walk in the first inning who was quickly thrown out by catcher Brian Serven to end the frame. Graybill struck out four of the nine batters he faced, three of which went down swinging due to his high-octane stuff. His fastball sat in the 93-95 mph range and was sharp with his command while showing a tight slider, giving him two advanced offerings.

The emergence of Graybill is yet another weapon in the ASU pitching staff, although he wasn’t the only one to perform well last night. Before last night freshman lefthander Andrew Shaps had thrown just a single inning and he performed well, striking out all three batters that he faced. Last night was more of the same for the Arizona native as he threw 1 1/3 innings, and sticking to suit, recorded all four outs via a strikeout.

• After getting off to a surprisingly slow start, the Bryant Bulldogs are starting to play the way we thought they would when they were picked as the preseason champions of the Northeast Conference (NEC). Not coincidently sophomore outfielder Matt Albanese has begun to heat up, especially over his last three games, all of which were won by Bryant. A long and athletic 6-foot-2, 200-pound center fielder, Albanese went on a tear during that three-game stretch, hitting four home runs with eight RBI while raising his season batting average up to a team-high .354.

• Sticking with the non big-five conference theme, Kennesaw State junior shortstop Kal Simmons has put together a very strong season that hasn’t seemed to receive as much attention as it should warrant. Always known as a silky smooth, above average defender with a strong arm and a more than likely chance of sticking up the middle, the switch-hitting Simmons has been just as loud, if not louder with the bat this spring. Currently hitting .310, Simmons is the only Owl to start all 28 games this year and understandably leads Kennesaw State in nearly every offensive category.

The 2015 season has allowed Simmons to showcase his strength from both sides, combining for eight home runs already (tied for third most in the country) with six coming from the left side and the other two from the right. While it may be more of a contact and barrel oriented swing from the right side, it’s important to keep in mind that he’s faced many more righthanders than he has lefties so far. He isn’t getting cheated either with his contact, as when he barrels the ball up and drives it, it’s going to get out in a hurry.

As expected this preseason, juniors Travis Bergen and Jordan Hillyer have been a consistent force on the mound for Kennesaw State and are a big reason for their recent surge. The righthanded Hillyer continues to rack up the punchouts collecting 13 of them two weeks ago, and he followed that performance up with 11 more in his most recent start. How does he do it? The strongly built 6-foot-1, 205-pound Hillyer works consistently in the 88-93 mph range while still showing a sharp slider that has served as his put-away pitch.

Always known for his pitchability, the lefthanded Bergen shows very similar velocity to Hillyer and has touched 94 mph on occasion making it a true swing-and-miss pitch. He shows a full array of off-speed pitches as well, all of which will show above average while showing the ability to harness the life on each as evidenced by just 12 walks over 46 2/3 innings as compared to 49 strikeouts.

• Don't look now, but Boston College's Chris Shaw is heating up. He went 9-for-20 (.450 average) with seven runs scored, 11 driven in, three walks, two doubles and three home runs. He drove in the game-winning run in three of the Eagles' five wins. The wins help pick up a Boston College Squad that opened ACC play with back-to-back sweeps at the hands of Florida State and Louisville. They were also swept earlier this season by LSU giving them one of the more stout early season schedules. In mid-May Shaw was hitting only .211, although he did have four home runs at that point in the season. Now he's up to .274 with eight home runs and 34 RBI, both among the national leaders.

• One of the better, if not overlooked series across the country this weekend will occur with Missouri State hosting No. 17 Dallas Baptist in a key Missouri Valley Conference showdown. Dallas Baptist is 23-3 thanks to a well-balanced team that is collecitvely hitting .305 with a staff ERA of 2.66. Missouri State will provide a tough test, with a 18-7 record and a little bit of college baseball star power in the form of outfielder Tate Matheny and righthanded pitcher (and Saturday starter) Jon Harris.
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