It’s been a fun and interesting four weeks of the college baseball season, but competition will pick up in week five as conference play begins for most.
There are several great series this weekend that will separate the contenders from the pretenders, so let’s take a quick look at the top five matchups.
1. Oregon State-UCLA (Fri. 8pm CT; Sat. 8pm CT – Pac-12 Live; Sun. 2pm CT – Pac-12 Live)
This is a no-brainer for this list as it’s an early season conference matchup between two top five teams. UCLA came into the season with a lot of hype, but the defending champions just keep winning. I expect to see great pitching and defense in a low-scoring, but highly entertaining matchup.
2. Mississippi State-Florida (Fri. 5:30pm CT – SECN+; Sat. 1pm CT – SECN; Sun. 1pm CT – SECN)
An extra-innings loss to Southern Miss is the only blemish on the Bulldogs schedule this season. Ethan Small (1.50 ERA) and JT Ginn (1.80 ERA) have been outstanding for Mississippi State. Meanwhile, the Florida offense has been hit-or-miss. They are coming off a 20-run performance against Florida State though, so we’ll see if they can carry that into a home series with the Bulldogs.
3. Texas Tech-Texas (Fri. 6:30pm CT – LHN; Sat. 2:30pm CT – LHN; Sun. 1pm CT – LHN)
Texas is in the middle of a brutal stretch of games that started with a sweep at home over LSU, and then losing three-of-four at Stanford. Now they are back home to face the preseason favorites in the Big 12. From what we’ve seen so far this year, these could be the two best teams in the conference. It will be a heavyweight showdown in Austin.
4. NC State-Florida State (Fri. 5:30pm CT – ACCNE; Sat. 5:30pm CT – ACCNE; Sun. 12pm CT – ACCNE)
NC State enters the weekend as one of only two teams (Arizona State the other one) who is still undefeated. We get to see just how legitimate that record is as they take on a top 10 team in Florida State. If the Wolfpack can take care of business at home this weekend, you can start considering them a top-four team in the ACC. As for the Seminoles, I’m sure they’re motivated to bounce-back after giving up that 20 spot to their rival Florida during the week.
5. VCU-UCF (Fri. 5pm CT; Sat. 5pm CT; Sun. 12pm CT — all games on UCFKnight.TV (paid subscription required)
This is one of my under the radar matchups of the weekend. VCU is having a great start to the season with an 11-3 record and a win over North Carolina. Meanwhile, UCF has wins over Auburn and Florida and looks like one of the best teams in the AAC. This matchup will go a long way for both teams in determining which one is for real.
Other matchups to keep an eye:
Louisville-Duke
Jacksonville-UNCG
New Mexico-Nevada
Miami-UNC
ECU-Maryland
Southern Miss-La Tech
Tennesee-Auburn
Georiga-South Carolina
Vanderbilt-Texas A&M
Houston-Dallas Baptist
