College baseball week in review: NC State surges into ACC lead, Texas sweeps Texas A&M

By / / Sports / 8 minutes of reading


On Feb. 25, NC State lost for the fifth consecutive time, a 5-1 decision at home to Richmond on a Tuesday afternoon. The Wolfpack were 3-5 overall and had scored a total of seven runs in their previous four games.

Not great — but also not time to panic.

They’ve lost only seven times since.

On Saturday, they completed an emphatic three-game sweep over Clemson, ranked No. 2 at the time, with a 4-1 victory in Raleigh. They outscored the Tigers 26-8 in the three games and are now 30-12 overall and alone in first place in the ACC at 15-6.

NC State did just about everything well in the series, but the Pack’s relief pitching was especially impressive. They used only three relievers (one in each game), with Anderson Nance, Andrew Shaffner and Jacob Dudan combining to give up only six hits and one run, with eight strikeouts and no walks, in eight innings.

Clemson, meanwhile, lost a series for the first time this season. The Tigers are 36-10 overall and 13-8 in the ACC with an RPI of No. 8.

It wasn’t the most impactful series of the season — and maybe not even of the weekend — but Texas A&M’s visit to Texas in the Schloss Bowl was clearly the most anticipated regular-season matchup of the year.

We had the No. 1 team in the country, Texas, taking on hated rival Texas A&M, the team that opened the season atop the polls. We had Jim Schlossnagle, who guided the Aggies to the finals of the College World Series last June, now in the Texas dugout. And we had Michael Earley, Schloss’ hitting coach last season who briefly followed him to Texas, as the head coach in the Aggies dugout.

And the games lived up to the hype, with Texas winning three consecutive one-run games — 2-1 on Friday night, 3-2 on Saturday and 6-5 on Sunday.

Texas, now an astounding 19-2 in the SEC, is solidifying its case to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Texas A&M has recovered from a dismal start to the SEC season but, at 8-13 in the league with a No. 40 RPI, still has work to do. The Aggies close with series against LSU, Missouri and Georgia.

LSU took two of three from Tennessee in Baton Rouge in a matchup of the last two national champions. The final two games were decided by six runs (Tennessee 9-3) and 10 runs (LSU 12-2), but there was some incredible drama on Friday night.

Tennessee got another masterful performance from starter Liam Doyle (one hit, no earned runs allowed in 6 2/3 innings) and took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. But the Tigers, with the help of two errors by Vols third baseman Dean Curley, tied the score at 3-3 on a two-out single by freshman Derek Curiel and then first baseman Jared Jones drilled a three-run homer over the batter’s eye to give LSU a 6-3 win.

There was a notable development for Tennessee on Sunday, despite the loss. A.J. Russell, who missed most of last season and a large part of this season while recovering from an injury, made his first career SEC start. He threw 37 pitches and allowed two earned runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Prior to the weekend, Russell had not allowed an earned run in 5 2/3 innings over four games this season. He will be one of the more intriguing pitchers to follow as the MLB Draft nears. He is supremely talented but has pitched only 21 2/3 innings in the last two seasons.

LSU turned to freshman Casan Evans for his first SEC start on Sunday, and the freshman right-hander allowed six hits and two earned runs in six innings.

What a two-week stretch for Oregon. First, the Ducks took two of three from UCLA in a key Big Ten showdown and celebrated outfielder Mason Neville breaking the school’s single-season home run record. Then, this past weekend, they swept rival Oregon State in a three-game nonconference series in Eugene.

Oregon’s pitching was the difference. The Ducks allowed a total of five runs in the three games … after giving up 10 runs in a midweek loss to Portland on Tuesday.

The two teams meet again on Tuesday in Corvallis.

East Carolina’s streak of six consecutive Regional appearances is in serious jeopardy. The Pirates are 25-19 overall and 10-8 in the AAC with an RPI of No. 80. They had a rough opener against Tulane on Friday night …

… and then lost the decisive Game 3 on Sunday to drop a series at home to Tulane for the first time since 2012.

ECU’s pitching, usually a strength, has struggled in 2025. In league games, the Pirates rank sixth in ERA (6.31) and eighth in batting average against (.255). Those numbers are up from 4.05 and .229 last season.

This step back is a product, in large part, of losing staff ace Trey Yesavage (first-round MLB Draft pick) and No. 2 starter Zach Root (now the Friday night starter at Arkansas).

Arizona State swept BYU to improve to 28-16 overall and 14-7 in the Big 12. It’s safe to say the Sun Devils swung the bats well on Saturday night, especially in the first two innings.

Suggestion to any player who wants to talk smack: know how many outs there are. West Virginia scored the tying run in the top of the seventh after UCF pitcher Angelo Smith tossed the ball back to the mound after recording … the second out of the inning.

West Virginia won the game, 15-10, and the series and still holds a two-game lead atop the Big 12. The Mountaineers are 37-5 overall and 16-3 in the league.

Iowa continues to roll and continues to lead the Big Ten standings. The Hawkeyes swept Indiana — winning the final two games by a combined score of 23-2 — to improve to 29-12 overall and 20-4 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes’ RIP isn’t great (No. 61) but that should improve down the stretch with series against Oregon State (in Des Moines) and Oregon, in addition to a road trip to Washington.

On April 11, Arkansas improved to 12-1 in the SEC with a 13-3 win at Georgia. Three weeks later, the Razorbacks are 14-7 in the league after losing the final two games in Athens and then dropping series to Texas A&M (home) and Florida (road). It’s the first time since 2016 that Arkansas has lost three straight series.

And how about this for a closing stretch: home series against Texas and Tennessee sandwiched around a trip to LSU.

Florida, meanwhile, continues to claw its way back into the postseason discussion. The Gators have won seven of their last nine SEC games and are 30-16 overall and 8-13 in the SEC with an RPI of No. 19.

UC Irvine took complete control of the Big West title race with a three-game sweep at Cal Poly by scores of 6-4, 4-0 and 10-8. The Anteaters, at 32-9 overall and 19-2 in the league with an RPI of No. 12, are in position to host a Regional for the second time ever and first time since 2009.

Cal Poly, despite getting swept, is still very much in the picture for an at-large invite. The Mustangs are 28-14 overall and 15-6 in the league with a strong RPI (No. 28) and solid nonconference schedule strength (No. 51).

LSU Shreveport swept a three-game series from Jarvis Christian to finish the regular season at 47-0 and set a college baseball record for the longest winning streak by a four-year school. The NAIA program, which competes in the Red River Athletic Conference, broke the record of 46 previously held by Division II Savannah State (1999-2000).

Howard College, a juco in Texas, holds the record for most consecutive wins by any college baseball team with 57 in 2009.

The longest winning streak in Division I is 34 games, by FAU in 1999 and Texas in 1977.

And finally …

• Georgia first baseman Ryland Zaborowski left in the second inning of the series finale against Oklahoma on Saturday with an elbow injury. He missed the final two games of the Vanderbilt series the week before with an undisclosed injury after getting hit by a ground ball. The transfer from Miami (Ohio) leads all power-conference players with a 1.322 OPS and is hitting .372 with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs.

• Louisville bounced back from series losses to NC State and Clemson — plus a 17-5 midweek loss to Kentucky — by taking two of three from Florida State at home. FSU won the opener 10-2, but the Cards responded with wins of 9-4 and 14-2. They are 30-13 overall and 12-9 in the ACC.

• Mid-major programs are often gutted by offseason transfers, but the portal can work both ways. Charlotte right-hander Blake Gillespie had a 13.74 ERA in 18 innings over two seasons at Georgia. Now, as the 49ers’ Friday night starter, the junior from Clermont, Ga., is 6-3 with a 2.70 ERA and a .201 batting average against.

• Western Kentucky’s at-large hopes took a hit, with the Hilltoppers getting swept on the road at FIU over the weekend. WKU is 34-10 overall and 11-7 in Conference USA with an RPI of No. 48.

• Miami extended its ACC winning streak to eight games with a sweep at Boston College. The Hurricanes are 27-18 overall and 12-9 in the ACC with an RPI of No. 32.

• St. John’s opened Big East play with six straight wins but is now 6-6 in the league after getting swept at Creighton and at home vs. UConn. Xavier and UConn are tied for the league lead at 11-4.

• Notre Dame feasted on the two new ACC members, sweeping Stanford and Cal the last two weeks by a combined score of 54-18. The Fighting Irish are 24-17 overall and 10-14 in the ACC.

(Photo courtesy of NC State Athletics)





Source link

Start typing and press enter to search

Scroll to Top