The final weekend of the regular season began in exciting fashion and here’s our inside look back at Saturday’s college baseball action.
The good
North Carolina: The Tar Heels couldn’t have put together a more impressive weekend. They finished off a series sweep of Virginia on Saturday with a 3-2 triumph. UNC starting pitcher Chris Munnelly allowed just two runs on four hits in six innings. With the win, the Tar Heels will enter the ACC tournament as a lock to earn a national seed. Coach Mike Fox has done a tremendous job with his club this season.
South Carolina, Florida, Vanderbilt: Gamecocks coach Ray Tanner has done his most impressive coaching job this season, and he capped the regular season off in style with another SEC regular season title. Florida and Vanderbilt took care of business against Kentucky and Georgia, respectively, and also earned a share of the regular season title. South Carolina, though, enters the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed.
Clemson: The Tigers still have some work to do to earn an NCAA Regional host, but took a huge step forward over the weekend with an 8-5 victory and road series win over Florida State. Clemson starting pitcher Jonathan Meyer wasn’t great against the Seminoles, but David Haselden and Scott Weismann rose to the occasion. The Tigers are one of those clubs you don’t want in your NCAA Regional.
East Carolina: The Pirates already were in good shape to reach the NCAA postseason, but they really helped their case for a No. 2 seed over the weekend against Tulane. ECU finished off an impressive road series sweep of the Green Wave with a 7-6 triumph. ECU starting pitcher Kevin Brandt put together a solid start, allowing just two runs (one earned) on seven hits in seven innings.
LSU: The Tigers entered the weekend in a must-win situation to keep their NCAA postseason hopes alive. They took care of business against Mississippi State, earning a series win over the Bulldogs with a 6-3 triumph on Saturday. LSU starting pitcher Ryan Eades allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings, while reliever Ben Alsup was fantastic, tossing three scoreless innings. LSU should be OK from a postseason standpoint as long as several upsets don’t occur in some mid-major conference tournaments.
The bad
Oregon State: We said earlier this week the Beavers needed to take care of business against USC to be completely safe from a national seed standpoint because of their iffy RPI. Well, after winning the series opener against the Trojans, the Beavers dropped Game 2 and are now back to 20 in the latest RPI. OSU needs to take care of business in the series finale.
Stetson: The Hatters appeared to be in solid shape for an NCAA Regional host for several weeks, but their dream likely was dashed over the weekend with a tough series loss to Belmont. Though they likely won’t reach their ultimate goal, the Hatters are still in solid shape to earn a No. 2 seed in a postseason Regional. It’ll be interesting to see how they fair in the tournament.
Fresno State: The Bulldogs entered the weekend hoping to increase their chances of hosting an NCAA Regional. Instead, Fresno has dropped the first two games of an important series against Cal State Bakersfield. Bakersfield starting pitcher Tommy Hoenshell threw a gem against the Bulldogs, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits in a complete game performance. With the series loss, the Bulldogs’ hosting chances took a huge hit.
Oklahoma: Speaking of teams hoping to host an NCAA Regional, the Sooners entered the weekend aiming for a road series win over Baylor. A series win over the Bears likely would have put them much closer to earn a host spot. Instead, OU dropped the series finale to the Bears 3-2 and now has some serious work to do in the Big 12 tournament. For Baylor, the series win illustrates just how different of a team it has been the past few weeks.
Auburn: The Tigers have put themselves in a tough situation entering the SEC tournament. They were expected to take care of business against Tennessee, but instead dropped the series with a 4-3 setback in the series finale. Auburn is now 29-27 overall and must win at least one game in Hoover, Ala., to even be eligible for the NCAA tournament. The Tigers are in a pressure-packed situation moving forward.
RPI talk
Fresno State: We talked earlier about how the Bulldogs are hurting their hosting chances with a poor showing against Cal State Bakersfield this weekend. Well, the Bulldogs have an RPI of 24 with a 37-13 overall record. Going deeper, the Bulldogs are 2-0 vs. RPI Top 25 and 50 and 11-5 vs. RPI Top 100. Unless the NCAA just feels compelled to give the West Coast another host, the Bulldogs likely will need some help while also doing well in the WAC tournament.
Cal State Fullerton: The Titans have one of the more intriguing resumes in college baseball. Their resume isn’t great, but they’ve got a fantastic RPI of 11 with a solid 37-14 overall record. The Titans, who are a lock to host an NCAA Regional, are 3-7 vs. RPI Top 25, 6-8 vs. RPI Top 50 and 18-9 vs. RPI Top 100. The Titans aren’t in the mix for a national seed yet, but being on the West Coast possibly could help their case.
Rice: The Owls had a golden opportunity to sweep a road series over Southern Mississippi, but were unable to seal the deal on Saturday. As a result, the Owls are 10 in the latest RPI with a 38-18 overall record. The Owls are 6-4 vs. RPI Top 25, 12-9 vs. RPI Top 50 and 28-17 vs. RPI Top 100. Rice is behind Georgia Tech in the national seed pecking order, but has a chance to move into the top eight with a strong showing in the Conference USA tournament.
Georgia Tech: We really get the feeling the Yellow Jackets will give the ACC three national seeds. The Yellow Jackets hit the road over the weekend and took two of three from Virginia Tech. As a result, the Jackets have an RPI of 8 with a solid 39-17 overall record. GT is 9-6 vs. RPI Top 25, 14-8 vs. RPI Top 50 and 24-15 vs. RPI Top 100. The Jackets are in the mix for the last national seed with Rice, Texas A&M, Arizona State and Florida State.
Miami: With Stetson losing a tough series to Belmont over the weekend, many have asked via email if the Hurricanes are right back in the mix for an NCAA Regional host. Well, they are, but still have much work to do in the ACC tournament. The ‘Canes have an RPI of 19 with a 34-20 overall record. The overall record must improve a great deal next week. UM is 5-11 vs. RPI Top 25, 9-13 vs. RPI Top 50 and 17-15 vs. RPI Top 100. By comparison, Clemson is ahead of the ‘Canes at 7-10 vs. RPI Top 25, 12-12 vs. RPI Top 50 and 20-14 vs. RPI Top 100.
Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Perfect Game USA and has covered the sport for over 10 seasons. He can be reached at kendall@perfectgame.org