The Weekend Set: Week 3

Recap

It would be silly of me to not start with the biggest headline in college baseball, is it time to panic in College Station? We eluded to it last week on our podcast after back-to-back losses against Cal Poly and Texas State, but the Aggies followed it up with two more losses at the hands of Arizona and Oklahoma State. Both very good ballclubs, but we’re talking about a team that was supposed to go pole-to-pole #1 and run the table to revenge their College World Series loss in 2024. Losing superstar Gavin Grahovac is not ideal for the Aggies, having to move Wyatt Henseler to the hot corner and then it’s going to be some experimenting at second base, but this team is far too talented to scuffle all year. Expectations are a helluva drug, and at the end of the day, this is an experienced group with a first year head coach. Now, this isn’t to say it’s time to panic and blow up the operation, if you truly believe Jace LaViolette is going to hit under .300 this year, I’m not sure what to tell you. The pitching has still been an anchor for the Aggies pitching to a 3.28, and they’re obviously trying to figure out the pieces to the puzzle in the bullpen, as are 95% of the teams in the country. Things are looking bleak in Aggieland right now, but I’d be hard pressed to believe the tides won’t turn soon.

We finally got some rivalries underway in Clemson taking down South Carolina putting a stamp on the Palmetto Bowl with a convincing sweep. Florida and Miami got their first looks at each other and the Gators took the series 2-1, with The U salvaging game three in dominating fashion. Miami held up better than I expected, and props to them for controlling game three because it would’ve been really easy to lay down and take a beating on getaway day after dropping the series to what is a really strong Gators team.

Southern Miss and TCU may have been the best series of the weekend, only becoming uneventful with the Golden Eagles blowing open the rubber match in the last two innings, but start to finish I was extremely impressed with both teams. This was more of a testament to how good Southern Miss is rather than a knock on the Horned Frogs.

Backside Breakouts

Top-25:

Climbing the Ladder

Arizona: This weekend is exactly the team we knew Arizona to be. Don’t be fooled by weekend one, the Cats are back and picked up two ranked wins this weekend against (former) #2 Texas A&M and (former) #15 Mississippi State. Sure, they lost 5-1 to who should be considered the consensus #1 team in the Tennessee Volunteers, but not all losses are created equal and they were three mistake pitches away from a one-run ballgame. Chip Hale appears to have righted the ship, and we love the direction they’re headed.

Southern Miss: There were some questions are the Golden Eagles as they finally left The Pete for the first time this season to take on the #21 TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, but they looked like the real deal. Taking two-of-three on the road was a major statement for USM and are quickly becoming on of the best Mid Majors in the country. Experience in the rotation between J.B. Middleton, Kros Sivley, and Matthew Adams, with a great lineup filled with veterans like Matthew Russo and Ozzie Pratt, the Sun Belt is going to be a war this season.

Clemson: Taking on their deep rival in South Carolina, Clemson had their hands full against a Gamecocks team that spent the early part of their season beating up on smaller schools. Clemson showed out, tape-to-tape controlled this series and walked away with a sweep, no small feat, especially in one of the deepest rivalries in the sport.

Slump Alert

Vanderbilt: The Commodores are a team I haven’t quite placed my finger on yet, and it’s for a few reasons. You can’t ever count out a Tim Corbin ballclub. However, there are some glaring holes in this team, mostly their inability to put teams away. The lack of slug in their lineup is a major issue, especially when we’re talking about contending for an SEC title with the likes of the Tennessee Volunteers who have 585 home runs as a team since 2021. With just 7 home runs as a team to this point, 3 of which coming from players with 23 or less at-bats (not every day guys), there has hardly been extra base hits. It’s really tough on an offense to play the ‘death by paper cut’ game especially when we look at who the pitchers are in the SEC. Not a team I’m buying stock in, but it was clear as day this weekend, they need more thump in the lineup if they’re going to compete.

Mississippi State: Another team that I’ve struggled to get a good read on, and they hadn’t really stumbled other than midweek losses in really good games to two of the best Mid Majors in the country in Southern Miss and Troy, there was nothing to fault them on. This weekend was no different, dropping a game to Arizona 6-5 and one to Oklahoma State 9-7, they competed across the board, but nothing to show for it. That might just be how this team is all season, a fringe Top-25 team that is a thorn in the SEC’s side, because they’re clearly talented enough to play at that level and compete, but I’m not sure how much they can win at that level. They’ll take on #16 USM on Tuesday and look to get back on track with a ranked win.

Arizona State: As much fun as the Sun Devils are, there’s a clear issue in Tempe. After losing the series to Minnesota, the problem reared its ugly head. ASU led after 7 innings in all three games, only won game three. Minnesota scored 20 runs this weekend, 12 of them were after the 7th inning. The bullpen is a mess right now quite honestly, and while this team has an explosive offense, you can only do so much when you’re allowing over 50% of the runs in a series in the last three innings of each game. It’s obviously early and they’re clearly trying to figure out who the high leverage guys are, but it’s clear what the weakness of this squad is.

Merch

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