The college baseball season is now in full swing and we have some powerful matchups in store for Week 2! Let's take a look at the Top 10 series to watch this week...
It doesn't get much better than this: two Florida schools that are both ranked in the Top 5 of the NCBWA rankings facing eachother in an epic pre-conference matchup. Both of these teams are currently undefeated with Florida at 5-0 and Miami at 4-0. We could easily find both of these schools in Omaha come June, so this is about as close as we'll get to a must watch series all season long.
Dallas Baptist at #17 North Carolina
In the past decade, Dallas Baptist has emerged as an elite mid-major program by making the NCAA Tournament 8 of the last 9 seasons. They are heavy favorites to win the Missouri Valley Conference again this season and are off to a hot start with a 4-0 record. They will play at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, NC against an undefeated Tar Heel team with a 5-0 record. We can almost guarantee that both of these teams will be in the field of 64 in May.
Oregon State at #7 Mississippi State
The 3-time National Champion Beavers will head to Stark Vegas to take on an extremely talented Mississippi State Bulldog team who is looking to make their 3rd consecutive trip to Omaha. JT Ginn, a freshman All-American pitcher last season, has been ruled out for this weekend due to an unspecified injury. Though Mississippi State is still the favorite to win this series, Oregon State has more than enough talent to take the series if the Bulldogs don't show up.
#21 Wake Forest at Long Beach State
This is the most underrated matchup of the week. Two programs that are both very talented, but under-performed last season and as a result aren't getting much attention this season. Long Beach State had a very rough season finishing 14-41, which is extremely out of character for a program that has produced some of the best Major League talent in the country. Either of these teams could end up as a 2 or 3 seed in a regional, so this series is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
UCF at #10 Auburn
UCF is sneaky. They were 1 game away from earning the automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament last season but fell up short to Cincinnati in the AAC Conference Tournament Championship. They also defeated Florida, Florida State, and Miami in mid-week matchups last year, so don't put it past them to take down a Top 25 team. Auburn is coming off of a 5-0 start last weekend and have outscored their opponents 61-8 so far this season. If Auburn continues to play like they have, the Knights are going to have a tough time taking the series.
Ohio State at #22 Georgia Tech
Ohio State has proven that they are a NCAA Tournament contender every year by making the regionals 3 of the last 5 seasons. And although Georgia Tech hasn't had that same success making the tournament in the past 5 years, they have certainly emerged as a powerhouse in the ACC. Georgia Tech has a very good shot at hosting a another regional this season, while this matchup will give us a good idea at how Ohio State can handle an out of conference Top 25 team.
#25 TCU at Minnesota
It wasn't too long ago that Minnesota hosted a regional en route to facing Oregon State (2018 National Champions) in their first ever Super Regional. Meanwhile TCU is looking to reclaim their grip on the college baseball world after not making it to Omaha the past 2 seasons. Though Minnesota is 2-2 on the season, they have proven they can win against good competition in Oregon and Arizona last weekend, so they might have what it takes to derail the 4-0 Horned Frogs.
Tulane at Cal State Fullerton
Tulane is coming off of an impressive sweep against Florida Gulf Coast last weekend as well as a mid-week win against Louisiana-Lafayette. Yet this weekend they will have to take on the west coast powerhouse in Cal State Fullerton. Neither of these teams are foreign to the NCAA tournament, and it is likely that they will both finish on top of their respective conferences this season.
Washington at Fresno State
This west coast matchup will give us a very good idea on if these teams have the potential to make another playoff push this season. Both have the talent to make the postseason, but it will take winning at the right time to make it there. And if either of these teams gets hot at the right time, they will cause chaos in the regionals.
#9 Michigan vs UConn
Michigan has established themselves as one of the best programs in the country not only with their success last season, but their performance last weekend defeating Vanderbilt, Cal Poly, and Arizona State. With that being said, they did play UConn last Sunday and lost 7-1, so there is a chance that UConn has their number and can pull off an upset this weekend. However, the safe bet is that Michigan will stay hot and take the series from the Huskies.
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