Fansided

College Baseball games of the week – Interleague play headlines holiday week

By Brett Gibbons

CORAL GABLES, FL - MARCH 12: Georgia Tech right handed pitcher Micah Carpenter (40) pitches during a college baseball game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the University of Miami Hurricanes on March 12, 2017 at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, Coral Gables, Florida. Miami defeated Tech 17-7. (Photo by Richard C. Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CORAL GABLES, FL - MARCH 12: Georgia Tech right handed pitcher Micah Carpenter (40) pitches during a college baseball game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the University of Miami Hurricanes on March 12, 2017 at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, Coral Gables, Florida. Miami defeated Tech 17-7. (Photo by Richard C. Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Easter weekend marks the start of a mad scramble for conference tournaments and the postseason. If there’s a time to make a statement, the time is now.

Another wild weekend in the books, and some teams are starting to panic. Auburn, Texas and Coastal Carolina have been bounced from the standings for the first time in 2019 and will be looking to get back into the mix. Fortunately, Auburn has a chance this week with a matchup against No. 11 Georgia Tech. As for Texas and Coastal, they will have to wait another week, when time is not on their side.

No. 3 Mississippi State at No. 12 Arkansas

April 18–20

Mississippi State is up to their usual business through April, posting a 7-1 record thus far in the month. On the offensive side, sophomore infielder Justin Foscue has slugged 10 home runs (t-30th) and 38 RBI (t-55th). RS Junior Ethan Small is leading the pitching corps with a 1.83 ERA (42nd) and a ridiculous 94 strikeouts (14.81 per nine innings, 2nd). Small is coming fresh off a shutout of Alabama where he fanned 15 batters in just six innings.

Arkansas fell to Vanderbilt in Nashville last weekend, losing two of three. What might be alarming about that series was the 27 runs the Razorbacks surrendered, 24 of which came in the latter two games. While not having a particularly stellar pitching year, Arkansas pitching has shown potential, like when they shut out No. 15 Auburn in the series finale.

As the College World Series picture is starting to take shape, we can be sure that both of these two teams will make the cut and make runs. Both Mississippi State and Arkansas rely on bats to win games, this series has the potential to be a slugfest. Not many matchups get better than this one.

No. 23 Miami at No. 8 Louisville

April 18–20

A rookie on the list, Miami has had a simple season so far: Win the games they’re supposed to and drop the tough series. Eight of the Hurricanes’ 12 losses this season have come to teams currently ranked (add another loss to teams ranked at the time of the series). Nevertheless, Miami has quality series wins over No. 11 Georgia Tech and Florida State, but have just now jumped into the top 25.

Louisville sits an impressive 13-5 in the ACC Conference so far, including a sweep of No. 9 NC State this past weekend. Sophomore pitcher Reid Detmers has continued his tear this season, ringing up 94 strikeouts and a 2.24 ERA so far. Detmers has three shutouts and struck out 16 against Georgia Tech in March. As a team, Louisville ranks sixth in WHIP at 1.10.

Miami averages 7.4 runs per game (27th) and has 10 games with 10 runs or more so far. The perfect counter to hot bats? Lockdown pitching like Louisville’s. Fortunately, we get a whole weekend with the two teams, so watch that battle and see if Miami really can hang with the best of them. The Hurricanes sit just 4-8 against ranked opponents, compared to Louisville’s 9-4 record. In a stacked ACC, this series could prove pivotal to keeping the Hurricanes in postseason contention.

No. 24 Clemson at No. 5 Georgia

April 16

At one point this season, Clemson was ranked as high as No. 13. But, a sweep at the hands of Florida State brought the Tigers to the brink of being ousted from the top 25. Clemson is a dangerous team, though, as they have a series win versus No. 8 Louisville and a sweep of No. 17 North Carolina. Despite not having any pitchers in the top 50 in ERA, the team ranks 18th with a 3.23 ERA.

Georgia ended the 2018 season ranked just 19th but was ninth in the D1 Baseball preseason rankings. Since then, the Bulldogs have proven their place and steadily climbed in the rankings. Georgia has series victories against South Carolina, No. 14 LSU, and No. 6 Vanderbilt and sits atop the SEC East at 10-5. Georgia is also holder of the best home record in the SEC (18-3). A duo we’ve discussed before, Emerson Hancock and Tim Elliot continue their dominance on the mound and both rank inside the top 15 in ERA, just two duos in the country to post that mark. As a team, Georgia ranks 6th in ERA at 2.83.

Not many interleague games have the promise and star power as this one. Georgia won the first match 5-3 at Clemson. Elliot picked up the win in that game and fanned seven. Junior Aaron Schunk picked up the save for Georgia and batted in three RBI. You can expect a similar close matchup in Athens, where the Tigers will have to prepare for a dogfight to win.

Auburn at No. 11 Georgia Tech

April 16

Auburn was ranked 12th in the country and had posted a 18-2 record going into the weekend of March 22nd. They were coming fresh off six shutouts in 10 games and were looking to take hold of the SEC. Since then, though, the Tigers have gone a rough 6-10 and fallen from the rankings. The bats have fallen silent over that 16-game stretch, with a mere 4.13 runs per game average. Auburn is looking to get back on track, but are fully capable of salvaging the season.

Georgia Tech has been the great surprise of the season after finishing just 14-16 in league play in 2018 and missing the tournament for the second straight year. The Yellow Jackets have impressive wins over No. 5 Georgia, No. 8 Louisville, and No. 17 North Carolina; earlier this month, they also took out Auburn. All around, the Jackets are playing well.

Auburn is looking for redemption for the loss they took on April 2 and want to make a statement to get back into the top-25 and end their losing skid. Both teams sit at 24-12 in tough conferences and are vying to host Regional tournaments. For either team, this game could be a fight for their lives.

No. 18 Baylor at No. 22 Texas Tech

April 18–20

Baylor secured a crucial series win at home versus Oklahoma last weekend to move to a league-best 8-3 in Big 12 play. The Bears rank 19th in team ERA (3.25) and have averaged a steady 7.2 runs per game (32nd). With numbers like that, you could expect a 40-win season from the guys in Waco, but instead they have proven to be inconsistent at times. Baylor dropped a series against Nebraska and games against Sam Houston State and UT Arlington so far. Clean those winnable games up, and Baylor could be a scary team.

The usual bats of Texas Tech were quieted last weekend against No. 25 West Virginia, where the Red Raiders were held to just two runs per game in a series loss. Tech hasn’t swept a series since hosting Michigan at the end of March and have gone just 2-5 this season against ranked opponents. Lead by sophomores Gabe Holt and Dylan Neuse and senior Cameron Warren, Tech is looking to get meaningful wins and top a tough Big 12 conference.

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Tech proves to be one of the hardest teams to beat at home, posting a 15-3 record, and Baylor is 4-5 in away or neutral game sites this year. The Bears swept No. 25 West Virginia and split a series against Texas at home, but have yet to face a tough road test. With the meat of their league schedule rapidly approaching, Baylor will be looking to make a statement.