The Weekend Set: Week 11

Another week in the books and we still have yet to gain any clarity for a front runner in the country, as we had a TON of ranked teams take a beating this weekend.

Texas remains our number one after an impressive sweep over their hated rival Texas A&M Aggies who happened to be the hottest team in the country. while three new teams join the top 10, and three new teams join the top 25.

North Carolina State Climbs the Ranks:

After an extremely impressive weekend for the Wolfpack sweeping former #2 Clemson, they’ve taken control in first place in the ACC and look like a team that can shock a lot of teams come post season time.

LSU finds their way back into the National Title conversation after a big time bounce back series win over the Tennessee Volunteers, capped off by a six-run ninth inning comeback victory in game one thanks to a Bear Jones walk off home run.

While we still have a lot of questions around the Tigers especially in SEC play, it’s tough to argue the weekend they just put together.

This week in our composite rankings, three new teams join the party:

• #14 North Carolina State Wolfpack

• #21 Louisville Cardinals

• #25 Kansas Jayhawks

Meanwhile, a few teams hit a rough patch this weekend and fell out our Top 25

• Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

• Texas A&M Aggies

• Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Backside Breakout Players of the Week

Climbing the Ladder:

Louisville: Another impressive for the Cardinals as they take home a series win over the Florida State Seminoles. The pitching staff looked fantastic and they did more than enough on offense to take home a series. To me, this is a darkhorse playoff team that nobody will want to face as a two or three seed.

North Carolina State: More parity in the ACC (big surprise) with a series sweep over former #2 Clemson, Ryan Marohn turned in a great start rolling eight innings of one-run baseball punching out five Tiger hitters. The Wolfpack take over first place in the ACC and look to be in their second half season hot streak.

Oregon: The Ducks walk away from a sweep over their in-state rival Beavers and put their stamp on their national championship potential as a legit contender. This team truly does it all, hits 1-9 and can shove on the mound. Their first year in the Big 10 is shaping up to be a very impressive one.

Slump Alert:

Oregon State: In a year where the Beavers don’t belong to a conference, it’s imperative that they handle the top teams in the country to stay in the National Seed conversation. Unfortunately, the in-state rivalry would get the best of them getting swept at the hands of the Ducks in Eugene.

Arizona: While some weekends the Wildcats look like the Omaha team we predicted way back in January, their bumps in the road have been tough. While they seem to play up to their competition, a bad series loss against a struggling Texas Tech team was certainly not how they wanted this to go as their hopes for the Big 12 title are starting to slip away.

Arkansas: A third straight SEC loss for the Razorbacks has certainly turned some heads. DVH mentioned a quote that we believe should calm down some panicked fans, “That’s just the SEC in the Spring.” While some concerns have creeped into our heads, this is still a championship caliber club.

New Backside Groundballs Media Content

We’re pushing out different content on our YouTube Channel weekly from player interviews, weekend series previews and predictions, and weekly big topic recaps!

Big Topic Videos:

• Texas’ Historic Start in SEC Play

• Panic Time for Tennessee?

• Landscape Altering Changes Coming to College Baseball

Facility Tours:

• University of Delaware

• Victus Bats

• University of Arkansas

Merch

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