The time has finally come for the first weekend of the 2018 college baseball season. Throughout the year we’ll be looking at some of the top matchups each weekend around the country.
Intriguing Series to Watch:
There are a few one-of games this weekend that will be interesting to watch like Oregon State-New Mexico, Virginia-UCF, Virginia-Rice, South Alabama-Oklahoma, South Alabama-Indiana, Indiana-Oklahoma and Indiana-Coastal Carolina. But we’re just going to look strictly at the top series of the weekend.
- Duke at Vanderbilt
Times and Where to Watch: Friday – 4 p.m. CT (SEC Network+); Saturday – 12 p.m. CT (no TV); Sunday – 1 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
I will actually be at the Saturday game for this series, so that’s why it ranks number one for me. But I can’t wait to see Duke’s hitters go against Vanderbilt’s pitching. We don’t really know how good either of these teams will be this year, but we know Griffin Conine and Jimmy Herron can hit, and we know Vanderbilt can always pitch. This reminds me of the North Carolina-Kentucky series to start last year. It could be a very tight series and show us where these teams stand going forward.
- Mississippi State at Southern Miss
Times and Where to Watch: Friday – 4 p.m. CT (C-USA TV $); Saturday – 1 p.m. CT (C-USA TV $); Sunday – 1 p.m. CT (C-USA TV $)
This may actually be my favorite series of the weekend as Mississippi State came out of the loser’s bracket to eliminate host Southern Miss in the regionals last year. The Golden Eagles will try to seek revenge to start this season and show everyone they are legitimate contenders again in 2018. The Bulldogs will be looking establish state dominance and win a big road series to start the year. This one is going to be fun in Hattiesburg.
- Cal State Fullerton at Stanford
Times and Where to Watch: Friday – 4 p.m. CT (Pac-12 Live); Saturday – 11 a.m. CT (Pac-12 Live); Sunday – 11 a.m. CT (Pac-12 Live)
In my opinion you’re getting the second best team from the Pac-12 and the best team from the Big West in week one. The Titans lose a lot from last year’s College World Series squad, while Stanford seems poised to make some noise this year. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Stanford runs away with this series as I think it will take Cal State Fullerton a while to come together. But if the Titans do manage to win a game or two on the road, I’ll instantly become believers in them again for this season.
- Winthrop at Ole Miss
Times and Where to Watch: Friday – 4 p.m. CT (SEC Network+); Saturday – 1:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network+); Sunday – 12:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network+)
This series is very intriguing to me because a lot of people are much higher on Ole Miss this year than I am. It’s not that I don’t think they’re a top 25 team, but some people have them pushing the top 10. Winthrop is projected to win the Big South, and they have a good enough team that they could possibly earn an at-large bid with wins over a team like Ole Miss. There are bigger matchups down the road for Ole Miss, but if they have a chance to prove to me they are a top team this weekend.
- North Carolina at South Florida
Times and Where to Watch: Friday – 7 p.m. (BullsVision); Saturday – 6:30 p.m. CT (No TV); Sunday – 12:00 p.m. CT (No TV)
The Bulls are a fringe top 25 team to start the season with some great starting pitching led by Shane McClanahan, while the Tar Heels are one of the favorites to reach Omaha. You really don’t need much more explanation on this series. But for South Florida, if they want to try and earn that at-large bid they have to come away with at least one win at home against North Carolina.
Here are a few other series this weekend that I think will be entertaining in terms of seeing where teams are to start the season.
- Xavier at Florida State
- Rhode Island at Texas A&M
- Louisiana at Texas
- Kent State at Sam Houston St.
- Minnesota at Georgia Tech
- Maryland at Tennessee
- Bryant at Arizona
5 Questions for this Weekend:
- What do Oregon State and Florida look like?
Most believe that Oregon State and Florida are the favorites to win the College World Series in 2018 because of all the talent they have coming back. I’m looking forward to seeing what each team looks like Opening Weekend. Neither team should really be challenged this weekend – especially Florida against Siena – but I’m curious as to what the motivation is for each team. Could Florida have some fatigue? Is Oregon State out to make a point? I think we could be witnessing two of the better teams we’ve ever seen in college baseball.
- Who will impress the most in the opening weekend?
You always have a lot over overreactions from the first week of any sport, but I’m still curious to see what teams stand out in week one. There are several smaller schools that have a chance to pick up some big wins and maybe an earn an at-large bid. And there are some more well-known teams that are just outside the top 25 that are looking to join the crowd. There will be a lot of movement after the first weekend, and I’m looking forward to seeing who impresses the most.
- Can Kent State or Sam Houston St. earn at-large bids?
For many people Kent State and Sam Houston St. are the favorites to win their respective conferences (although I picked Central Arkansas to win the Southland). Regardless, both have very talented lineups that could earn an at-large bid, which makes this opening weekend series even more important. Whoever takes this series will have a leg up in trying to earn that at-large bid.
- Is Ole Miss for real?
I’ve countless discussions this offseason about the validity of Ole Miss – to the point where people think I hate Ole Miss. That’s certainly not the case as I think they are a top 25 team, I just don’t view them as a top 15 team like some outlets do. But if they want to start proving to me that they do belong in that top 15 area, they can do so by taking care a very good mid-major team like Winthrop. How well they play against Winthrop – who is probably a top 50 team in the end – will tell me a lot about Ole Miss.
- Has Cal State Fullerton reloaded?
It’s almost become like clockwork for Cal State Fullerton to reload and compete for the College World Series title every year. I know they are going to be good this year – I picked them to win the Big West – but I’m not sure if they belong in the top 15 discussions just yet. They have a lot of talent to replace, and I think it could take some time for them to figure things out. But if they come out of the gates swinging and take down a top 10 Stanford club, consider me on board with the Titans.
Players to Watch:
- Shane McClanahan
Maybe the best left-handed pitching prospect in college baseball this year, he’ll start the season by facing off against a top 10 team in North Carolina. This might be the best team he faces all year, and I’m sure there will be several scouts in attendance to watch.
- Griffin Conine
One of the best college bats will start the season against a notoriously good pitching staff. Now the rotation Vanderbilt runs out there in 2018 might not be as good as some in the past, but you know they’re always going to be in consideration for one of the best pitching staffs in college baseball. Playing in the ACC, Conine will have plenty of tests against great college pitching, but I can’t wait to see what he does against Vanderbilt’s arms this weekend.
- Matt Wallner
I haven’t done a good enough job of giving Matt Wallner the credit he deserves after a great freshman season. Now he is the leader of this lineup and he’ll need to have a big weekend if Southern Miss is going to take care of Mississippi State at home.
- Stanford pitching staff
I think a rotation led by Tristan Beck and Kris Bubic is worth the price of admission. This will certainly be one of the best starting staffs in baseball, and they get a very good challenge the first weekend against Cal State Fullerton.
- Luke Heimlich
For many reasons, I’m curious to see how Oregon State’s Luke Heimlich does in his return. Obviously the 2017 season did not end well for him, but it appears he’s ready to get back out there. Statistically he had one of the best seasons ever as a pitcher in 2017. But we’ll see how he handles all of the noise in 2018, and if he can get back to being the pitcher he was.
Where I will be this Weekend:
Friday – I plan to be at the UAB-Bowling Green game in my hometown, and then rushing home to watch all of the opening day action.
Saturday – I plan to be in Nashville for the Vanderbilt-Duke game.
Sunday – I plan to travel to Tuscaloosa for Alabama-Valpo.
