‍4 Tennessee vs 3 Kentucky

The most anticipated series of the weekend and possibly the season definitely delivered between these two Omaha caliber clubs. Kentucky came into the weekend with only one conference loss (to Missouri of all teams 2-1 in game two) and one of the best teams and stories in the nation, with 3 consecutive SEC sweeps, two vs ranked foes.

Head Coach Nick Mingione has the Wildcats in the middle of another fantastic season after making it to a super regional last season. Kentucky lost the series, but they showed a lot in this series and have a lot of reason to hold their heads high. The Wildcats aren't a star-studded or star-headlined team like a Tennessee, Arkansas, or Florida, but they’ve got such a tight knit group of players who are all 100% bought in and play tough, clean baseball in all facets.

They gave themselves a chance to win this series after winning game one 5-3 behind 3 hits and 4RBI from Ryan Waldschmidt and Emilien Pitre in the 1-2 spots. The Vols took game two 9-4 kicked off by back-to-back homers from Chrisitan Moore and Blake Burke to start the game. Both Moore and Burke continue to go back and forth for the program’s career home run record. It’s being talked about in Knoxville, TN as the Tennessee version of  the Sammy Sosa & Mark McGwire home run race of 1998.

And then in game three, the Volunteers out slugged the Wildcats, lead by Chrsitian Moore who had a historic day with 3 homers and extended the Vols career HR record to 46 with his 19th on the season. The Vols edged out a 13-11 win where UK almost came back in the 9th inning with back-to-back homers.

Despite the struggles from Kentucky’s starters, Dominic Niman who couldn’t get out of the first inning in game two (0.0IP, 5H, 5R, 4ER, 0K, 0BB) and Mason Moore in game three (5IP, 6H, 7R, 5ER, 2K, 2BB), the Wildcats were still in this series with a chance to win it thanks to the bats. As for the Tennessee Volunteers, they are not getting enough credit for how great of a season they’re having and how talented (again) this Tony Vitello squad is. They’re now ranked No. 3 in the nation but I believe are the biggest sleeper club to go to Omaha and bring back Tennessee’s first ever national championship in baseball.

Tony Vitello’s squads at Tennessee have been known primarily for their powerful offenses. This year's club is no exception and the lineup is DEEP and powerful all throughout. Leadoff man Christian Moore is one of the best hitters in the SEC and isn’t being talked about or known well enough outside of Knoxville and pitchers that face him. He leads the SEC in hits (33), home runs (13), total bases (78),  T-1st in RBI (28),  2nd in slugging (.963), 4th in batting average (.407), and 9th in OPS (1.257). Following him in the lineup are studs Blake Burke, Kavares Tears, Dylan Dreiling, and Billy Amick (all of which are top 15 in OPS in order with Amick’s at 1.135 for reference.

Furthermore, the Vols have four more players with an OPS over 1.000. The lineup is one of if not the BEST in the nation top to bottom and has all the ability to win it all. How far they will go will depend on the pitching, which hasn’t been as consistent in the past several weeks as they had been the first half of the season but are giving them a chance to win each game.

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1 Texas A&M vs 18 Alabama

The new number one team in the country went on the road against an SEC foe and top 20 team and left with a statement series win. The Aggies are off to their best start in program history and have won 5 consecutive series vs ranked opponents. The A&M bats led the way in this series, tallying a program record 37 in an SEC series.

Braden Montgomery, the No. 10 prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft, continues to shine going 3-9, with 7RBI,  2HRs, 3R, 6BB, (HR and 4RBI in game two) and a 22-game on-base streak. Behind him are more power players like Jace LaViolette and Hayden Schott who also had a HR and 4RBI each in game two.

The A&M lineup is also one of the best if not best lineups in the SEC and college baseball and they’ve proven that to be true week in and week out this season, especially versus some very good pitching teams like then 14th ranked Texas, 22nd ranked South Carolina, and especially 6th ranked Vanderbilt last week where they racked up 36 runs in the three game series! And they did just that versus 12th ranked Alabama with wins of 10-5 and 18-9 before dropping the final game of the series barely, 10-9.

The bats took another step forward by doing it AGAIN versus a top ranked team but where the only concerns lie for the Aggies in this series is on the mound. Friday night ace, Ryan Prager, has been incredible all season long. However, he struggled on Friday vs the Crimson Tide, going 3IP, 7H, 4ER 1K, 2BB, where he tied his season low for strikeouts and season high for walks. What hurt him were breaking balls he left up and over the plate. It was only his second rough outing (he went 2.1IP, 7H, 6ER, 1K, 0BB vs Florida). In game two, Tanner Jones struggled on the mound as well, going 4.1IP, 7H, 6R, 5ER, 1K, 0BB.

Jones struggled versus the Tide lineup that made some adjustments in their approach and didn’t get deep into counts trying to hit out. They were aggressive earlier in counts. And then in game three (game two of the double-header), Justin Lamkin didn’t make it out of the second after giving up a grand slam on a hanging, cement mixing slider, finishing with a line of 4.1IP, 7H, 6R, 5ER, 1K, 0BB. His stuff just wasn’t his sharpest and wasn’t able to expand the zone to put away hitters. Again, this was uncharacteristic of this Texas A&M team and is being overshadowed in this series with how loud the bats and offense was.

The starting rotation is something to keep an eye on this upcoming weekend at home versus a really good Georgia Bulldog lineup led by Charlie Condon. I fully expect pitching coach Max Weiner to right the ship. He’s done an incredible job in his first season in College Station, TX turning this Aggie staff from middle of the pack to one of the best in the country: 12th in OPS, 10th in Ks, 3rd in K/BB ratio, 3rd in runs per game, and 14th in FIP (fielding independent pitching–a better version of ERA that focuses on outcomes the pitcher controls).

As we sit here currently, the Aggies of Texas A&M are clearly the number one team in the country and better than prior number one, the Arkansas Razorbacks. There’s a lot to be excited about in Aggieland this season and beyond.

California shuts down and  SWEEPS 5 Oregon State

The Golden Bears are a team with a lot of talent that came into the season with high expectations. After a bumpier season and getting swept a couple of times in the PAC 12, California has emerged from a bubble team into a team that should find themselves in the postseason. That is because of back-to-back sweeps on the road versus Washington State and then at home versus a stout No. 5 ranked Oregon State club.

Rodney Green Jr. led the Golden Bears in game one to a 10-8 win, going 2-3, 4RBI, HR, 3R, 2BB. In game two, again Green Jr. led the team with 3RBI and a double. And then in game three, Tom Mayer and Trey Newmann combined for 9IP, 4H, 3ER, 16K, 2BB on the mound to complete the sweep. California is trending in the right direction late in the season, increasing their RPI 31 spots to 48th and are 4-0 against quad-1 teams.

Coastal Carolina makes a statement weekend

The Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana have been nearly unbeatable in the Sun Belt Conference this season and came into the weekend ranked No. 14 in the country. They traveled to Conway, SC to take on conference foe and mid-major powerhouse, the No. 19 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

In a highly anticipated and exciting series, Coastal Carolina took game one 9-1 after going down 1-0 in the first and responded with 9 unanswered. Riley Eikhoff was incredible on the mound and shut down the Ragin’ Cajuns, going 7IP, 5H, 1ER, 4K, 0BB. Alexander Meckley dominated the rest of the way with recording every out via strikeout in the final two innings, only surrendering 2 hits. Louisiana’s dominant lefty, Andrew Herrmann struggled, allowing 8 runs, 5 earned on 5 hits in 1.2 innings. But in game two, Duncan Pastore (3-4, 4RBI) led the rebound effort for Louisiana evening the series with an 8-6 win.

And then in the game three rubber match game, the Chanticleers out slugged the Ragin’ Cajuns in what turned into a bullpen day for both teams. The 6-hole guys for both clubs lead the way offensively, Conor Higgs for Louisiana who went 2-4, 4RBI, 2R and Graham Brown for Coastal who went 3-5, 4RBI, 2R, BB and had a multi-hit and RBI day in game one as well.

The Chanticleers proved themselves again as one of the best midmajors in the country and are definitely in the hosting mix for a regional this postseason. Their RPI jumps up to 13 now, the 3rd hardest non-conference strength of schedule, 7-6 vs RPI top-50 teams and 4-5 vs quad 1 teams, both of which need to improve to better their chances.

Boomer Sooner is heating up at the right time

Oklahoma was treading rough waters a couple of weeks ago after dropping three consecutive series. However, they’ve flipped a switch and have won 7 straight games, 6 of those Big 12 conference games after a road sweep on the road over BYU with a 10-7 win in game three. The headline was Bryce Madron who went 3-4 with 2HRs, 2B, 7RBI in that finale and 7-13, 4 2Bs, 3HR, 9RBI, and 2BB over the series.

The Sooners jump up to 19 in the RPI standings and are 9-4 versus quad 1 teams. Keep an eye on Skip Johnson’s Sooners who are now ranked No. 18 and look to be in good position to host a regional out in Norman, OK. Before they do that, however, they’ll host Texas and then travel to Lubbock, TX to face Texas Tech.

Georgia Tech MASHES in road series upset over Virginia

Danny Hall and the Yellow Jackets traveled to Charlottesville, VA and made a statement road ACC win. Friday night Aeden Finateri pitched real well and scattered 12 hits in 6.2IP, only allowing 2 runs, 1 earned run, with 8 strikeouts, and no walks.

Cam Jones did most of the damage offensively going 2-4 with 4RBI and 2 runs. Game two on Saturday went to extras where the Cavaliers walked it off thanks to Bobby Whalen who went 2-3 with the game winner. Sunday’s rubber match was a slugfest and the Jackets out hit the Cavaliers, recording 17 RUNS on 25 HITS! Matthew Ellis (ACC Player of the Week) went 4-6, 4RBI, 3R, Payton Green went 3-6, 3RBI, 1R, and Bobby Zmarzlak went 3-5, 3RBI, 2R. The bats for GT were on fire, led by a lot of aggressive, in the zone approaches, and not missing mistakes from pitchers.

Tech sits at 24-14, 9-9 in ACC play and ranks 57th in RPI. Their quad 1 record is bad at 2-7 but are 10-3 in quad 2 games. They’re a bubble team that just helped their case significantly and hope to continue their trend into the last third of the regular season. Coming up, vs Miami, at current #5 Clemson, then vs Duke. A lot can still happen.

Player Spotlights:

Hitters

Christian Moore (TENN): 9-15, 2B, 4HR, 9RBI

Mac Guscette (ALA): 8-11, 2B, 2HR, 11RBI

Bryce Madron (OU): 7-13, 4 2Bs, 3HR, 9RBI, 2BB

Pitchers

Khal Stephens (MSU): 7IP, 6H, 1R, 0ER, 11K, 2BB

Hagen Smith (ARK): 6IP, 2H, 1ER, 11K, 5BB

Carter Holton (VAN): 7IP, 4H, 2ER, 10K, 0BB