What To Watch For This Weekend In College Baseball (2/28)

Top 25 Schedule

Tournaments to watch

Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic, Houston

College baseball’s premier nonconference tournament will celebrate its 20th anniversary with stellar field. The tournament this year will have a Big 12-SEC challenge format, with three Big 12 teams – Baylor, No. 15 Oklahoma and Texas – playing a round-robin with three SEC teams – No. 9 Arkansas, No. 14 Louisiana State and Missouri – at Minute Maid Park. There’s plenty of talent across the board – six Preseason All-Americans are in the event, including a trio of first-teamers (Louisiana State outfielder Daniel Cabrera, Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad and Arkansas shortstop Casey Martin) – and the teams all offer significant upside. The games will all be streamed on MLB.com and figure to make excellent viewing all weekend long.

Florida State Tournament

It’s a bit of a strange format – No. 12 Florida State hosts both No. 2 Texas Tech and Florida Atlantic in Tallahassee with the hosts playing four games and the other two teams playing three games – but it figures to be a fun one. The Seminoles (6-1) haven’t lost since Opening Day but this weekend represents a step up in competition before they open ACC play next week. For FAU (7-0), this weekend is a big opportunity to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume, while Texas Tech (8-1) is looming to continue its strong start to the season.

Series to watch

No. 4 Mississippi State at Long Beach State

Mississippi State (6-2) heads to the West Coast for a fascinating series at Long Beach State (6-2). The Dirtbags have been one of the season’s early surprises, winning series against California and Wake Forest in the first two weeks. Mississippi State started 5-0 before dropping back-to-back games against Oregon State and Texas Southern, which shortstop Jordan Westburg told reporters in Starkville was a wake-up call. It’ll be a long trip and the Dirtbags’ strength on the mound will be a tough test for the Bulldogs, especially with Beach getting lefthander Adam Seminaris back in the rotation after missing last week’s series. If Mississippi State’s bats can handle the Beach pitching staff, it should return home with a solid series win.

No. 10 Georgia vs. No. 19 Georgia Tech

For the first time in 61 years, “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” will be played as a weekend series instead of a series of midweek games. The two programs should be commended for the change and the series format – Friday at Athens, Saturday in Atlanta and Sunday at Triple-A Gwinnett’s CoolRay Field. The change should be a positive for fans, which will have an easier time attending the games and get to see both team’s best pitchers in action. For Georgia (8-1), that means Preseason All-Americans Emerson Hancock and Cole Wilcox take center stage. For Georgia Tech (7-1), that means its exciting freshmen arms led by righthander Zach Maxwell will play a big part. This is a good test for the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets with conference play looming for both teams.

Clemson vs. South Carolina

This series is one of college baseball’s best rivalries annually and is played across three sites, starting Friday at South Carolina, moving Saturday to low Class A Columbia’s Segra Park and finishing Sunday in Clemson. With neither team ranked, it doesn’t hold as prominent a place on the calendar, but you can be sure the fan bases will provide an outstanding atmosphere and that the teams will play up to the moment. Clemson (7-1) has pitched at a high level so far this season and will be looking to continue that effort against its rival. South Carolina (6-2) is coming off a disappointing series loss last weekend to Northwestern. Nothing would wash that away faster than a couple wins this weekend.