Here's Everything You Missed From This Weekend Of College Baseball (The Official Monday NCAA Baseball Round Up Blog)
David J Phillip. Shutterstock Images.Hey mister can I have a ball is one of the best phrases in sports. Only in baseball and never as loud as it is south of the mason dixon on a Friday night. So much action to cover with so much good juices flowing. If I miss your team or favorite story, just be an asshole to me in the comment section and that should make your life instantly better.
Last Week's Update: Week 2 Round Up Blog
NCAA Season Week: 3
Rankings Update (via D1baseball)
Not a ton of movement and by Not A Ton, I obviously mean only Louisville has made a move in the top 10. Whatever. A lot of people say these don't matter. Well those people have decent college basketball teams to cheer for. Most of the baseball crowd is just looking to scratch the itch on the message boards. And boy were they humming this week with some early action
Miami/Florida
Clemson/South Carolina
Rice/TCU
A&M /Tech Sunday Night/Monday Morning
I just assume all Texas teams hate each other. But I can believe it if EVERYONE looks down on the kids from Lubbock. It's not until you drive through West Texas until you truly understand just how fucking awful that part of the country truly is.
No offense.
Undefeated Teams (Top 25 Only)
Last week there were 6. Now we have 4 with a lot of cupcakes on these respective schedules
Wake Forest (13-0)
Virginia (11-0)
Alabama (12-0)
NC State (12-0)
I've been a sneaky NC State fan ever since they got completely hosed by the NCAA at the College World Series because of COVID. They made half the team sit because someone didn't bring a mask to the field, or something like that. I'll always cheer for the Wolfpack because of that. You guys are welcome to join me
Player of the week
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Best Play - A very simple home run…. WITH A WOOD BAT
That's Rikuu Nishida. He went to Tohoku HS in Oasaka, Japan. Played a little community college in the pacific northwest. An undersized junior infielder, Nishida registered a remarkable 73 walks against only 23 strikeouts in a two year career at Mt. Hood Community College. He was a Cape Cod League all star last year, paced the league in a bunch of categories.
In other words, this 5'6 140 pound dude can mash baseballs and that's awesome.
The Real Best Play?
So much beef between Miami and Florida.
They smashed each other 18-16 through the first 2 games of the series. Miami exploded on Friday for 10.
Florida followed up Saturday with FOURTEEN.
Jac Caglianone (remember the name) was spectacular again. He's got like 1,000 homers to start the year and pitches on weekends. We talked about him last week. I don't want to make a big deal about this but he's fucking awesome and he's got a super Italian name and that always plays a little harder on the diamond. I blame Rizzuto.
THAT'S NOT A WORD - HE'S A BASEBALL PLAYER
Anyways, Caglianone hit a bomb on Saturday and then told Miami to Fuck Off, literally:
If you missed:
Now here's where he really wins me over.
Kid show sup on Sunday in the rubber match and is throwing 98 fuckin miles per hour
I don't want to be a meatball here but I really need Jac Caglianone in a Cubs uniform in 2024.
And thus concludes our weekly Jac Caglianone segment.
Moving on.
16 Innings? No Thank You
Texas Tech and Texas A&M went 16 innings yesterday? Two days ago? I've been sideways since converting to Arizona time but point remains, 16 innings is a lot of fuckin baseball.
You guys are all winners at this point.
But you're also losers for trying to win that hard for hours and not being able to. Double edge sword when you go this long. Congrats on the dramatic game and all that but somebody slap the hitters and light the bars on fire.
I'll allow it. But that's a big league bullpen fellas. The Astros aren't playing Ring around the Rosie in the 15th, I can guarantee you that.
Steven probably summarized it best:
Nobody thinks about the catchers.
Tip your catchers.
Did I mention slaughter rule?
That's a real thing. Meant to bring it up earlier. Florida run-ruled Miami in 8 innings on Sunday. I know I just talked about that series and wish I had another one in the chamber to talk about with the run-rule. But we're back to Florida and Miami. It was glorious:
Ole Miss Swept The North
No graphic. I just want to say that Ole Miss is in the midst of an insane season. They got killed by Maryland last weekend then came back and won the series. They lost a heartbreaker to Louisiana Tech on Tuesday. Got a gift wrapped win on Wednesday when the NCAA ruled a rain out in the bottom of the 7th, despite Tech taking the lead in the top of the 7th. The game was closed after 6 when Ole Miss had a lead. Mintzy:
I'm starting to understand why Ole Miss is such a lightning rod program.
Obligatory LSU Update
So much respect for the Tigers baseball program. I'd say they're as Tier-1 as it gets in college sports. Them and Texas would be the two biggest names with the biggest followings. Mississippi State should be lurking in the background based on fan support alone, but they just don't have the national titles or nearly the caliber of alumni. I don't say that to start a fight, just to add context to the national baseball scene people may not be aware of.
Anyways, Texas and LSU played a midweek game in Austin this week that went down to the 9th inning and a dramatic 3-run homer from 5th year senior leadoff man Gavin Dugas
And while this wasn't the weekend series, it was easily the week's big game for LSU as they ran through Central Connecticut State over the weekend (who I conveniently hung a loss against two weeks after beating LSU 13 years ago, hilariously).
Texas Meanwhile…
They only play heavy hitters on the schedule. That's why I love Texas baseball so much. They do not back down early in the season.
6 of 11 games against legitimate CWS teams. 4 losses of one run. Another couple two runs. This is the kinda stuff that makes them unbeatable in late May because they've got 14 different guys that can pitch in any situation. They've played close games against awesome competition. They know they moments and they're almost never nervous. That's the Texas baseball identity and it's put them in Omaha like 30 fuckin times or something. I don't think this year is any different and I'm calling that out right now. The program is humming even if I have a personal vendetta against their head coach.
I'll explain that later as we get to know each other.
Arturo Disla Update
Not a great weekend. 1-13 against Okalahoma City with 5 strikeouts. Wayland Baptist is on the road this weekend at Central Christian College for a huge double header Saturday. Arturo will have a highlight package ready to go, I'm sure.
Iowa Is Now Ranked
Good strong 6
Iowa has good baseball naturally because they're naturally big & strong, but also very disciplined. Most of the best Iowa players leave Iowa at the first chance they get because it's Iowa. The guys who don't usually end up at any number of their community college programs that ultimately put them somewhere else if they're very good. They have a lot of baseball talent. I can't stress that enough.
Well turns out a lot of boys stayed home to pitch for the Hawkeyes and now they're legit. Great campus and culture. Nice baseball facility with clean branding and uniforms. This global warming thing pans out and I really think Iowa could be a national program come 2030.
D3 Update?
Here's one for you guys. Oglethorpe baseball in Atlanta, GA combined for a no hitter. You can read about the boys here if you're so inclined.
If you're in the D3 community, don't be bashful sending me stuff for the blog. It's not about the heavy hitters always.
Obligatory Ilini Update
Solid series win at Sam Houston improving the season record to 6-4. Good shit seeing the boys hang 22 runs ont he road. That's 57 total int the last 6 games.
3 this weekend at Coastal Carolina. If the Illini need any inspiration, I also beat them when they were 22-1 and smoking everyone. Not this 87mph side armer. Not on my watch.
I still got it.
Staying Personal
I've got a lot of video projects coming out this week that I've been banking. One of them is a Vinnie Pasquantino World Baseball Classic vlog behind the scenes of team Italy. I've got another one where I'll tear my rotator cuff on camera for you guys. And then a series of stadium reviews cut for short form social across the Cactus League. It's been a busy couple weeks ramping up the coverage as the weather turns and baseball gets cooking.
Here's the first episode of the WBC Vlog:
Go follow Barstool Baseball for more updates:
PS = I know I'm missing a lot of college stuff from the weekend but we're at 1600 words already. I'll figure out a better format to share as much as I can. Don't be bashful if you have solid suggestions. I'm very much in the market for meaningful input carl@barstoolsports.com