Latest / College Baseball Now / Weekend 10 Preview: Streak Snapped | Ep. 028

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Weekend 10 Preview: Streak Snapped | Ep. 028 · College Baseball Now

0:01
Speaker 1: A weekend of huge matchups. Await who's on top of
0:04
the A C C. Which SEC team could get back
0:06
on track after a rivalry sweep. Which teams can earn
0:10
all two valuable Quad one wins. As the season keeps
0:13
ticking onward, We're gonna get to the bottom of all
0:16
of this on today's episode of College Baseball.
0:19
Speaker 2: Now, yeah, there ain't no problems, no problems, don't want.
0:32
Speaker 3: Yeah, let me talk, sit chat, send it.
0:36
Speaker 2: What was gone for a minute?
0:37
Speaker 3: I hit the bet beat When the grab A couple
0:38
wins with a B I d if it's even know
0:40
the kid.
0:40
Speaker 1: I had to do a B I g DS. We
0:42
can never beat average and.
0:43
Speaker 2: They want to problem with the boy. They don't want
0:44
no statics county so coach ton run a week God,
0:47
I want.
0:47
Speaker 3: To test that titem with standing, so trong run the game.
0:51
Speaker 1: Best believe of shigning.
0:52
Speaker 3: Docks counted Now my wins we out loves it when
0:55
they county yacht counting up the.
0:57
Speaker 2: Least sudden shame? Why men believe? Run you one magic?
1:05
Speaker 3: To me stand this la magic, to Dan skin that
1:13
to dandy on knock him out.
1:17
Speaker 2: Really don't want to stand.
1:30
Speaker 1: Returning to you our friends. We are the College Baseball
1:34
Now coasting team. Glad to be with you for episode
1:37
number twenty eight, getting ready for Weekend ten of the
1:40
twenty twenty six in C Double A Baseball season. Starting
1:43
with me, your friend, your host, your boy, Drew Wheeler,
1:46
director of amateur Scouting at Prospects Love. Happy to be
1:48
here with you and with my friends.
1:51
Speaker 4: Uh.
1:51
Speaker 1: Starting with the gentleman in the center of your screen,
1:54
it is mister j B. Sebastiano.
1:56
Speaker 5: JB.
1:56
Speaker 1: Hi, how are you, sir?
1:58
Speaker 5: I'm doing, Drey. How are you, Drew?
2:00
Speaker 1: I'm well, I'm well.
2:01
Speaker 4: Uh.
2:02
Speaker 1: You guys watching at home listening, you'll soon learn we
2:06
are without one of our one of our regular hosts,
2:09
mister Catlett, sadly all consumed by his final semester of school.
2:16
It's just got a lot going on. Unable to join
2:18
us tonight, but it inspired me with a quick question
2:20
for you, JB. Yeah, we're just talking about it before
2:23
we came on about how I'm the high man on
2:25
a certain team.
2:27
Speaker 2: We all are.
2:28
Speaker 1: I know, we all have our teams that we root
2:30
for as well, but I'm curious in honor of Josh Catlet,
2:33
who's not here to defend himself. We know he has
2:36
passing kind of peripheral interest in Southern miss Do you
2:40
have a team that it's not your number one team,
2:42
but it's a team you're gonna root for more often
2:44
than not.
2:45
Speaker 5: Jb Oh, Yeah, that's that's really a great one. There's
2:52
probably a couple of answers to this that could go
2:55
around there that like very in matter you see, la.
3:00
I mean, it's such a bland answer. I'll give two
3:01
for myself UCLA. I grew up there, going to UCLA
3:04
games forever, So that's just one that's always going to
3:06
be there for me. And the second would probably be
3:10
definitely Liberty, probably because one of my really close friends
3:12
I work with all summer he's a student manager at Liberty.
3:15
So I mentioned last time shout at Micah again. Yeah,
3:18
he's probably the guy there for me. He's always going
3:20
to root for them.
3:22
Speaker 1: Good to know of course, of course. And Uh on
3:25
the right side holding it down, it is coach Jake
3:28
Barjory coach. It's great to see you as always, Buddy,
3:32
great to see you as well, Drew. Absolutely well. We
3:36
know that you're a Tennessee fan. We know that obviously.
3:39
Ur Katie holds a big piece of your heart. I'm curious,
3:42
do you have any other teams that are kind of
3:43
just ones that you have rooting interest in, maybe your
3:46
peripheral favorites.
3:48
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I'm I mean, I am a Tennessee
3:51
fan kind of through and through, but like I kind
3:53
of grew up, like my dad was a big North
3:55
Carolina basketball fan. I've kind of, you know, I kind
3:58
of like to kind of follow them and whenever basketball
4:00
season is going on. I haven't watched a ton of
4:02
basketball recently, but when that's happening, I'll follow you and
4:06
see a little bit. But other than that, it's pretty
4:07
much oftensity for me.
4:09
Speaker 5: All Right, man, I love this new fact from Jake.
4:12
We'll happily accept you. Come on over anytime, you know,
4:14
we'll take you to the good side, Jake.
4:17
Speaker 1: You know, living in the Northeast, I'm sure you've also,
4:21
I mean, you see a good bit of pen and
4:23
Rutgers and those types of teams as well. Have any
4:26
of them endeared themselves to you severely yet or they're
4:29
still just they're still just close.
4:31
Speaker 4: They're not one of your favorites, you know, I support
4:36
my my lehih Mountain Hawks, big, big thing. I mean,
4:40
a huge midweek win for them this weekend, but I
4:42
support them whenever whenever I see them doing well on
4:46
the baseball field.
4:48
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely well the team, in case you were
4:51
wondering at home, it's Arizona State. I find myself to
4:53
be a little bit more of the Arizona State guy.
4:56
I think my exact quarter a minute ago was I'll
4:58
trust them till they give me a reason not to,
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and they have. Yeah. So, although I will say midweek
5:02
loss to Arizona is a little concernicus, but I'll put
5:05
that out of them, outside, out of mind.
5:07
Speaker 4: Already.
5:08
Speaker 1: Let's move on, guys, because there have been some midweeks
5:11
that I think we do need to get to discussing.
5:12
And we'll start JB with you because you just said it.
5:15
One are the teams that's always going to hold really
5:17
close to your heart, you, Seela, and Buddy. The streak
5:21
was snapped as we're starting to talk about all time
5:25
things streaks teams. What would happen other than maybe you
5:30
see Santa Barbara stepping up the slap to the face. JB.
5:35
My first question for you, do you think that this
5:37
is going to be a wake up call to Ucla
5:39
Or is it maybe a relief to UCLA. We don't
5:43
worry about the street now we can go out and
5:44
handle business.
5:46
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I think it's kind of a two
5:49
cents thing for them. You know, it kind of takes
5:51
the pressure off of all this raw rob music that
5:53
they've heard for a while. And going back to like
5:56
I've mentioned it probably before in twenty nineteen when I
5:58
lived there, they were the longest ever standing team to
6:01
hold the number one spot for almost the entirety of
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the season that year in twenty nineteen, then they obviously
6:07
lost a Super Regional to Michigan, and Michigan went on
6:09
to the National Championship Game and then they lost. But
6:12
you know, I think for them, it kind of takes
6:14
that weight off the shoulders. It's a reset, like, Okay,
6:16
we are human. We can lose a baseball game. You know,
6:19
it's a midweek game, so it doesn't matter that much.
6:22
It's a game that for UCSB was probably a must
6:24
win that they highlighted on the calendar, a quad one
6:27
win that they really really needed after some struggles in
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Big West play. So it's a huge game for them,
6:32
and definitely for UCLA it's a game you can move
6:34
on from and say it's okay, we are still dominating
6:37
the Big ten right now. We're in a great place
6:39
to win the Big ten tournament. You just need to
6:41
keep chutting along with Big ten play. Midweek shouldn't really
6:44
take you off your current status of where you're going.
6:47
Speaker 1: Yeah, uh, Jake, want to go to you really quickly
6:50
about this game again as it pertains to you see
6:54
Santa Barbara. I know we talk about how they're pitching
6:57
staff as a whole could be one of the deepest
7:00
in the country in terms of their midweek guys, their bullpen.
7:03
Obviously their weekend starters really quality. I know that we
7:07
could say UCLA is probably peripherally in that conversation. They've
7:10
got a ton of guys. I remember in the preseason,
7:12
you know, we talked about how UCLA could start X, y, Z, A,
7:15
B and C even and of course we know now
7:17
who their weekend mix is, but that also allows them
7:20
a really quality midweek crop of guys to deal from
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as well. I'm curious in terms of the pitching matchup
7:28
in this game, what what do you think was the
7:30
major takeaway here, Jake.
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Speaker 4: I think it's just that, like you know, you mentioned
7:36
UCSP they have all they have all their guys on
7:38
the on the weekend and the midweek and everything, but
7:40
they continue to use like like they're good pitchers and
7:43
in these midweek games, especially when it comes to playing
7:46
a team like UCLA, Like I think they understand how
7:48
important of a game this is for them, you know,
7:50
in the long run when it comes to you know,
7:52
RPI and you know you're talking about Quad one and
7:55
all those wins and everything, all that stuff does matter
7:57
at the end of the day. And you know they're
7:58
they're running out you know, Calvin, he's one of their
8:01
one of their better guys. And then Cole Cole Cole
8:03
Trupp is also, like I mean he's he's pitching, you know,
8:06
once or twice on the weekends sometimes, and like just
8:10
just seeing them get run out their their trusted arms
8:13
against this UCLA team just it does show how how
8:17
they know how important this game is. And then I think, uh,
8:20
we talked about this in our last episode about what
8:23
UCLA is. You know, pitching plan was going to be
8:25
going into this. I mentioned Angel Servantes was kind of
8:28
their midweek guy and he continued to be anyway, and
8:30
he was good. I think, you know, he gave up
8:31
a couple of runs there, but like, uh, for the
8:34
most part, giving up two runs and that being the
8:36
only two runs until like the what like the seventh
8:40
inning or something that they usually you know, gets the
8:42
job done. But you know, I've tipped my cap to
8:45
to the U the UCSB staff. They shut out UCLA
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and that's something that you know hasn't been done yet
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and hasn't really come close to being done yet. So
8:53
good for them. It is.
8:55
Speaker 1: It is, Jake absolutely a feather for UC Santa Barbara.
8:59
So I'm glad you I'm glad you see it that
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way as well, because this is one of those feathers
9:03
you see in a cap of a team as you
9:05
get to a regional and it's it's almost like credibility.
9:07
You say, well, this is the team that knocked the
9:10
giant off the perch and made them stumble. That's always
9:14
it always puts a bit of a target on you, JB.
9:16
Another thing that we've got to talk about in this
9:17
one is the final score four to zero, as Jake said,
9:21
shut them out, the Bruins unable to do any damage.
9:24
But on the flip side of that coin, JB. You
9:26
see Santa Barbara put up four runs, So what is
9:28
the major story offensively for UCSB.
9:33
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean the biggest standout from the game was
9:36
Rowan Kelly, their sunnfielder you went to for four two RBIs.
9:40
They only had two extra base hits on the day
9:42
as well, which kind of shows you the Santa Barbara
9:43
style which we talked about, small ball, move guys over,
9:46
great execution of different situations, that's really what they're all about.
9:50
The pitching was all on display as well, And kind
9:53
of another note to hit on for Santa Barbara is
9:56
you know, this is huge for them to win this game.
9:58
But they're also going to have a rematch with UCLA
10:01
coming up here in a few weeks after they play
10:03
Fullerton on April twenty eighth, So there will be a
10:06
rematch of this game, which will be very, very very
10:09
interesting to see.
10:10
Speaker 1: I think I can only agree. I'm looking at the
10:13
calendar right now to see the twenty eighth, So yeah,
10:15
we're getting another midweek in two weeks essentially, so that
10:19
rematch is gonna be one for the record books, and
10:21
I think UCLA is gonna be looking for blood. But
10:24
what if JV what if Santa Barbara can knock them
10:27
off again? What would that mean for Santa Barbara?
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Speaker 5: It would be huge. And it's in Santa Barbara as well,
10:31
which is not a close trip for oh CLA necessarily
10:35
be a couple hour trips, So you know, that'll be
10:37
a very very interesting thing to see.
10:40
Speaker 4: Man.
10:41
Speaker 1: Now, what if the gauchos like, Okay, I can't, I
10:43
can't start prognosticating here, and but h we talked about
10:48
feathers and caps, huge feather, huge feather to take the
10:51
season series crazy stuff. Jake gonna yeah massive, You're right, bro,
10:58
Gonna move to you, Jake, because we're gonna talk about Mississippi.
11:01
I know, earlier in the year we talked about how
11:03
Mississippi State Southern Miss one of the most electric games
11:07
early season. I know you guys remember it because I
11:09
feel like the group chat was going insane on a
11:11
Tuesday night in Hattiesburg. Obviously, I was in starkfle for
11:15
the rematch, not so much of an exciting game, and
11:18
yet now Ole Miss ten to three victory over Southern
11:22
Miss in the midweek, and Jake, my first question to
11:24
you is, what do you think the major takeaway here
11:27
is for Ole Miss being able to say, Okay, the
11:29
series of Mississippi State didn't go exactly how we wanted
11:32
it to, but at least we're not relegated to little
11:34
brother status here in the three teams at the top
11:37
of Mississippi supposedly.
11:42
Speaker 4: I think I think it's I mean, I think it's
11:44
huge for Old Miss to get this one, you know,
11:46
to kind of to defend their defend their home turf
11:49
there against the Southern Miss team, who, you know, we've
11:51
talked about them a lot this year, and we know
11:53
how how talented they are. You know, the they this
11:58
Ole Miss staff, you know, they held them to three runs.
12:00
They did give up hits. They I mean, they were
12:02
only three hits behind Ole Miss on the box score,
12:06
but like Ole Missus hits were just we're just bigger.
12:09
Like they had, you know, they had paida hit, a
12:11
home run. He had had a couple of doubles. They
12:13
had a couple of other doubles in this one. He
12:16
was you know, Be said it was four for four
12:18
for five, jued you and Mark two for four. It
12:21
was just it was just a really well played game
12:23
by Old Miss. And then like you know, both teams
12:25
ran out a ton of pitchers. I think that's kind
12:27
of expected at this point, and especially with the SEC
12:30
teams playing in midweek games. But I mean they they
12:32
battled in this game. They only had two walks to
12:34
thirteen strikeouts against the Southern Miss lineup, who we know
12:38
is talented, you know, pretty much from top to bottom. Uh.
12:41
Just a really well played game from from Ole Miss,
12:44
and they just you know, they took care of business
12:46
that they did.
12:47
Speaker 1: I took care of businesses is appropriate, h JB. Jake
12:51
kind of alluded to it just a moment ago. Really well,
12:53
we've talked a lot about Southern Miss, even without getting present.
12:56
Josh being a Southern Miss fan has already come up
12:59
once in this episode, and I'll bring it up again
13:01
here because I think we have. We have talked about
13:05
Southern Miss a justifiable amount. They are incredibly talented, as
13:08
Jake said, and yet JB a little bit of a
13:11
stumble in the last month. I feel like it's a
13:12
team who's you know, maybe this is the hot cold
13:15
hot theory kind of coming into action, or maybe it's
13:17
something different, but it seems like Southern Miss sprinted out
13:21
of the gate kind of to lead this marathon of
13:23
a season and maybe kind of hit a rock and
13:25
now we're stumbling, don't really know how to get our
13:27
feet back under a solid to keep running. What's your
13:30
take on this Southern Miss team right now?
13:32
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I definitely think it's something to note.
13:35
I think it's something where a lot of high energy,
13:39
high stress, high impact games so early on for that team,
13:42
I think, you know, definitely can take a toll on
13:44
you a little bit, especially here in the middle of
13:46
the season where they're at. It's a long season. It's
13:50
hard to be that consistent throughout UCLA. What they've done
13:53
is unheard of. You know, even the best of teams,
13:55
there's only a handful. They've won thirty games right now,
13:57
Like nobody just dominates no matter where you are. It's
14:01
a lot of just back and forth. Even the teams
14:02
with thirty wins, a lot of them had bad games.
14:04
You know, even if they won, they were very up
14:06
and down. So for Southern Miss, I think it's a
14:08
very similar thing. A thing to note. Jake mentioned a
14:10
lot of guys getting trotted out. Southern Miss trotted out
14:13
nine guys yesterday in this game, so a ton of
14:17
arms coming out to pitch for them. On the other side,
14:20
Ole missed, you know, very similarly. They threw seven arms,
14:22
so it was a very consistent switching of what type
14:27
of arm you had out there, what look you had.
14:29
I mean, both teams were just going to depend like crazy.
14:32
So I think that's very interesting. You have sixteen total
14:34
pitchers in this game. But overall on the outlook on
14:37
Southern Miss, I think they'll be okay. It's just a
14:40
little blip in this part of the season. It's more
14:41
concerning if at the very end of the year they
14:43
look bad again.
14:45
Speaker 1: Interesting. I think I'm with you. I know we're not
14:47
going to talk about this game later for pick them
14:50
or later in the show JB. But I mean Southern
14:52
Miss has got Texas State coming in that or rather
14:55
on the schedule this this weekend. That's a team that's
14:58
been surging. I think that this is a great opportunity
15:01
for Southern mystic kind of get right. It would also
15:03
be a great opportunity for Texas State to knock off
15:05
an early season favorite though.
15:07
Speaker 5: Yeah, for sure, I agree. It's definitely a huge series
15:10
for both teams.
15:12
Speaker 1: Jake, want to come back to you really quickly because
15:14
I know a couple of days ago, you and Josh
15:17
actually took part in building Prospects Lives first bracketology for
15:21
the website and awesome job. If you haven't go on
15:24
Twitter immediately, like as you're listening to this unless you're
15:26
like driving your car something, don't wreck your Wait till
15:29
you finish, wait till you park, and then do it.
15:30
But like, go to the Prospects Live Twitter seriously check
15:33
out the bracketology. That drop incredible stuff, a great projection
15:37
on what we could be seeing in terms of the
15:39
regional landscape. Jake, you and Josh talked. I believe you
15:43
said it was a two hour a little bit over
15:45
two hour conversation. What's the outlook in your mind? And
15:48
if you can speak for Josh as well about ole
15:50
Miss at this point in the season, what do you
15:52
see as being kind of their identity? What do we
15:55
still need to see from them?
15:58
Speaker 4: So yeah, in that break, we ended up going with
16:02
oh Miss as the sixteenth host, and I think that
16:05
they've kind of, you know, they've played their self into
16:08
that position at this point. You know, they're they're i
16:10
think not just wins and losses, but like, you know,
16:13
the way they've been performing on the field there, guys.
16:15
Are the guys are you know the lineups hitting well
16:18
right now? The starting pitchon We're gonna talk a little
16:20
bit about them later, but like the starting pitchon's doing
16:22
its job, and I think, you know, for now, like
16:26
I said, we got them in as a host right now,
16:27
I think, you know, if they finish, you know, continue
16:29
to finish the year strong, I think they're firmly going
16:31
to be in that conversation you know, everywhere at that
16:34
at that point.
16:36
Speaker 1: Good deal. I think so too. I know that they're
16:38
kind of among a cluster of SEC teams that weekend
16:42
to weekend. I don't really know what to make of them,
16:45
but I think that could also be chalked up to
16:47
just the quality of competition they're playing weekend to weekend. It's, uh,
16:50
they're running into a buzz saw or a loaded uh
16:52
you know, a loaded room at any given point. So, uh,
16:55
JB gonna go back to you because we moved to Oklahoma.
16:59
I know we talked about it on the last episode.
17:01
I think I actually mentioned how Oklahoma State and Oklahoma
17:03
was a game where honestly neither team could really stomach
17:08
a loss at this point, and Mother Nature actually played
17:11
a hand. There was a surprise third team in on
17:14
the mix here JV. It was the Weather and I
17:17
think the Weather may had claim to winning a little bit,
17:20
but in terms of the score on the scoreboard, Oklahoma
17:22
State took it seven to three. My question to you,
17:24
JB is what's the outlook on Oklahoma now, because I
17:27
feel like, again a little bit like Southern Miss an
17:30
early season darling that really exploded early but lately feels
17:34
like they can't get their feet underneath them.
17:36
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it's something that I guess within all
17:39
of us, I think we kind of expected from this
17:41
team to kind of fall back towards Earth. Oklahoma's been
17:45
a good team multiple for a lot of multiple years now.
17:48
They've been a team that's been very good. They were
17:50
in the Chapel Regional last year, and they've had a
17:53
lot of talent like the Weatherspoon brothers and Jackson Willis
17:56
right now is there. But at the same time, it's
17:58
also there's ceiling to Oklahoma. Honestly, like you know that
18:02
they are a very good ball club, but they don't
18:05
have that necessarily superstar level talent like some of the
18:08
other teams do in SEC and it's really hard fighting
18:10
an uphill battle like that when you're kind of fighting
18:12
from below and trying to punch your way up into
18:14
the top half of that conference. So Oklahoma is a
18:17
very talented team. They're going to be one of the
18:19
better teams throughout the rest of the season. But also
18:21
at the same time, I think it's just kind of
18:23
hard on them because it's a very taxing schedule playing
18:26
in the SEC. If you move Oklahoma into a different conference,
18:29
they probably fare a lot better than they are right now.
18:31
If they're back in the Big Twelve like they used
18:32
to be, they're probably at the top of the pack
18:35
like these teams that we talk about in the Big Twelve,
18:36
but SEC it's just harder for them to break away.
18:39
So I think for the rest of year they will
18:41
be a great team. They probably will win a game
18:44
or two an SEC tournament, But I don't think that
18:46
they're necessarily going to be the SEC favored and one
18:48
of the top dogs.
18:51
Speaker 1: I get that, man, I can't really say that I
18:54
disagree with you, honestly, Jake, I do want to go
18:56
to you because Oklahoma State, I think another team that
18:59
we would have talked to out at the onset of
19:00
the season as being one of the favorites. Uh, you know, realistically,
19:04
Oklahoma State is probably the blue blood of the Big
19:07
Twelve and yet not the most kind of picturesque season
19:12
for the Cowboys. Uh what do you think that a
19:14
win like this does for Oklahoma State? Jake? Again, we
19:17
can't harp on midweeks constantly. If the if the results
19:21
don't truly matter. Then again, you know, this is not
19:23
something you can hang your hat on like a weekend series,
19:26
but a big win nonetheless, Right.
19:31
Speaker 4: Yeah, absolutely, this is a big win for more than
19:34
just like you know, we just did the breakageology. My
19:37
mind's kind of wrapped around all that right now. That
19:40
Oklahoma State, I don't I don't have it pulled up.
19:43
I don't. I don't remember exactly where we landed on them,
19:45
but like you know, they have they're they're either like
19:48
one of the fringe bubble teams, like they just either
19:50
just didn't get in or they just got in. I
19:51
don't remember, But like you know, they have a tough stretch,
19:55
you know, a tough a tough part of their season
19:58
coming up. They got to play you know, the top
19:59
dogs in the Big Twelve in Kansas this weekend. Then
20:03
they travel on the road to Texas Tech, who the
20:06
record doesn't look phenomenal right now, but like on the road,
20:09
any series on the conference series on the road is
20:11
not going to be an easy one. Then they get
20:13
you know, TCU and then at Arizona State, Like it's
20:16
just a tough part of their season coming up, and
20:18
to be able to get you know, some confidence, you know,
20:20
beating Arrival in a MIDWEK game, no matter if it
20:24
was rained out or whatever it may be, that's got
20:26
to be a big confidence boost for them going forward.
20:28
Like you know, as like you mentioned, this season hasn't
20:31
necessarily gone the way that we thought it would, but
20:33
you know, I think they seem to be playing good
20:36
ball at the right time right now. So we'll just
20:38
see if they can keep it going.
20:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think so definitely. JB want to ask in
20:44
terms of Oklahoma State, I know that Alex Conover had
20:48
a really strong couple of games. I believe he really
20:52
showed out in this game. Colin Ritchie has been I
20:55
think I called him a spark plug earlier this week
20:58
and a conversation not with you guys, but there's certainly
21:01
talent on this Oklahoma State team, and like Jake said,
21:04
maybe this is just a turning point for them where
21:05
all the pieces are starting to click. I'm curious, JB,
21:08
do you have a player that you particularly enjoy watching
21:11
from Oklahoma State.
21:12
Speaker 5: Well, I guess I'll go over this fact from the
21:15
game I was gonna hit on. They hit four homers
21:18
in the game Oklahoma State, and this offense has been
21:21
pretty hot recently. I mean, they just came off a
21:24
game where they won twelve to ten before against Kansas State.
21:27
They lost thirteen to nine the game before, so this
21:30
offense againstistently recently has been putting up a lot of runs.
21:32
Four homers in this game incredible from them. The big
21:36
superstar from this game was Campbell Smithwick. He went three
21:39
for four, two homers, both solo shots. Colin Raschie, who
21:43
you talked about, had a two run homer as well
21:45
in this game. I think those are kind of the
21:48
studs for Oklahoma State. Conover as well, who you mentioned,
21:50
was over four in this game, but he's had a
21:52
great time recently. I think the offense has really been
21:55
caring factor for them so far, and all the games
21:57
you look at when they're losing usually it's a pitching
22:00
letting them down for most of these games, and the
22:02
pitching for Oklahoma State is probably the key to the
22:04
rest of the season to get them over these humps.
22:06
But like Jake mentioned, I think this is a huge
22:09
midweek win that they can carry into this Kansas series
22:11
to try to get back on track after Kansas shot
22:13
ups and boards.
22:15
Speaker 1: Absolutely they did, I mean certainly ours. I don't want
22:17
to speak for you, JB, but I know the I
22:20
know for sure that they did mine and Jake, I'm
22:21
pretty sure they got a pretty healthy bump in your
22:23
rankings as well. Either way, Let's move on, guys. There
22:27
were some upsets that we can refer to really quickly.
22:29
If you guys have a moment the fune Cookman thirteen
22:33
over Florida. How many times do I have to say it?
22:36
You guys at home, doctor Florida and mister Gators roar
22:39
your alligator face at us, because this is you to
22:42
a t, this is who are we going to get
22:43
any given day. Flip a coin. You're more likely to
22:47
know than I am. Jake Florida at this point, man,
22:51
is this just a bipolar team?
22:56
Speaker 4: I don't know. I mean, you look at I mean
22:58
they have just as many you know, impressive wins as
23:02
they do you know, tough losses at this point. Like
23:04
it's like one week, one week they're winning, you know,
23:07
when one week they're they're they're having a really big
23:09
weekend in the SEC, and then they lose you know,
23:12
the midweek. I don't know. I guess bipolar would probably
23:15
be a good name for him right now. But I mean,
23:18
when they're playing at their best, there's no denying how
23:20
good they are. It's just, you know, inconsistent.
23:24
Speaker 1: That's another great word for it, inconsistent. JB. Back to
23:27
your neck of the woods. Another another Big ten team
23:31
falls in the midweek to an in state opponent. USC
23:35
loses three to five to Long Beach State. What's the
23:38
story of that one, JB.
23:40
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean it's a brutal loss for this USC team,
23:43
who we talked about really needing to pick up some
23:45
of these wins, and they obviously swept last weekend against Iowa,
23:48
like we talked about them needing to do, but this
23:50
midweek was really a brutal game for them. They lost
23:53
to a twelve and twenty three Long Beach State team,
23:55
which usually Long Beach State is it was traditionally a
23:58
powerhouse of the Big West, but recently they've heavily fallen
24:01
off from that and you can tell this year they
24:03
really are not. And that is just a game that
24:06
brutally slipped away from this USC team. You know, the
24:09
offense has been in and out a lot. They've also
24:12
struggled with pitching in the midweek games, and they kind
24:14
of all fell together in this game and was a really,
24:16
really tough loss for them and probably was gonna fall
24:18
as a Quad three or Quad four game. That's really
24:22
really not a great look. So yeah, for USC, it's
24:26
kind of need to keep chugging and find a way
24:27
to bounce back for this Big ten series.
24:30
Speaker 1: Yeah, uh, Jake and JB, I'll go to both of
24:32
you for this one. VCU put up six runs against
24:35
the Virginia squad only two. I feel like we have
24:37
gone back and forth with Virginia, or at least I have.
24:41
It's difficult. Again, we say this every single MIDWEK episode.
24:44
I can't put too much stock into Midweeks. Nobody can.
24:47
At the same point, though Virginia can't lose these games
24:51
that are almost gimme is really not the right word
24:55
for VCU. But a midweek game against non acc score,
25:00
you need to win that one, would you agree, JB.
25:03
Speaker 5: Yeah, And I guess I'll go back to this from
25:05
the beginning of the year. They actually played each other
25:07
in a series from February twenty seven through March. First,
25:11
UVA did sweep the series, but in that series, the
25:15
final scores were five to three on Friday and Sunday,
25:18
and they went to eleven innings on Saturday, which they
25:20
should have lost that game. I was watching it. They
25:23
made an air in the field on a ground ball
25:25
from Becker that should have ended the game, and Becker
25:28
beat it out. They scored the tying run, and I
25:31
believe they had the go ahead somewhere right after an
25:34
extra innings at this point, and it was kind of
25:36
a heartbreaker for Virginia CommonWell. So this Virginia CommonWell team
25:39
has played them very well twice. Now they get rewarded
25:43
in this second go round in I guess a smaller
25:45
fashion into midweek. But yeah, I think it's something for
25:49
Virginia that they really have played up and down all
25:51
season two. We've seen it. They really struggled in some
25:53
games in midweeks that shouldn't happen Like Charlotte, they got
25:56
absolutely obliterated by them. I think it was like thirteen
25:59
to one or something like that back in the day.
26:01
And very confusing team. It will kind of be what
26:05
had do they show at the end of the season,
26:07
And I think it really is like the Pollard Special,
26:10
like Duke. I mean, these the due teams for a while.
26:12
They look very strong at times, they look very bad
26:14
at times. So it's kind of you know, what head
26:16
comes out in the playoffs?
26:18
Speaker 1: Jake, that's a that's a great lead. Which head's gonna
26:22
come out in the playoffs? Who are we going to see?
26:24
Uh in Virginia? I would I would assume you would
26:27
say as another inconsistent, bipolar, two faced team, Jake, Right.
26:34
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean from what we've seen, I would have
26:36
to agree to say that because I mean, like in
26:39
this one, outside of you know a j. Garssia, he
26:42
had the homer in the first and then I think
26:44
he had their other rbil later in the game, like
26:47
outside of him, like did Await was three for four,
26:50
but like the lineup just you know, didn't didn't have
26:54
have many answer you know, they just weren't driving in runs.
26:56
They were they were getting Uh, they were getting a
26:59
few hits, but like they just weren't, you know, being
27:01
able to get guys in when they needed them to,
27:03
and like, you know, that was just kind of the answer.
27:05
And I guess that's kind of been the story of
27:07
the Virginia team so far as just you know, not
27:09
taking advantage of certain opportunities.
27:13
Speaker 1: Well, seth, they certainly did not take advantage of this one,
27:16
and Virginia Commonwealth rewarded, as JB said, not swept in
27:21
the season series and they earn a victory after they
27:23
played Virginia close early in the season. All Right, mister
27:27
Catlin is not here to do it, So JB, I'm
27:28
going to delegate this to you. Please walk us through
27:31
what happened in the last weekends pick them. I think you,
27:34
more than anybody, deserved that opportunity to explain what happened
27:38
in last week's pick them, run us through the overalls,
27:40
and then we'll get into this week's games.
27:42
Speaker 5: Yeah. So overall, Josh and Drew are tied for first
27:47
place both thirty nine and thirty two. Me and Jake
27:51
are tied for second place. Slash, I guess last place
27:54
right now at thirty seven and thirty four. I came
27:56
back with a six and two week last week to
27:58
come from the depths. Somehow we made it out. Josh
28:02
and Jake both on four and four. Drew on the
28:04
flip side of me, went two and six. But Drew
28:07
was very happy and okay with his weekend. So that
28:10
leaves us to where we are now, and we will
28:13
open it up. I guess I'll preface this and throw
28:15
it to you, Drew with Georgia Tech and North Carolina,
28:17
so instead instead of you always personally, I want to
28:19
throw the softball to you, Drew, how would you like
28:22
to talk about this series Georgia Tech and UNC.
28:25
Speaker 1: Well, I you know, I think that probably the best
28:27
way to go about it would be to say, in
28:30
my mind, we're almost running into another instance of what
28:34
happens when a really quality pitching staff faces a really
28:38
quality offense. Now, JB, I don't want to be the
28:41
question responded with a question, but I will. What do
28:45
you think North Carolina's offense looks like compared to Florida States?
28:49
Because I think we're seeing a very similar weekend a
28:52
head for GT.
28:54
Speaker 5: I agree, I think it is a very very similar weekend.
28:58
Speaker 4: I think.
29:00
Speaker 5: This offense has gone a little better than Florida State recently.
29:03
Speaker 4: I think.
29:06
Speaker 5: They've had some woes with runners in scoring position, which
29:08
I think you know this weekend, if you correct that,
29:10
that could be a big, big factor. I think honestly,
29:15
UNC has usually risen up to the competition, you know,
29:18
Besides when we played UVA earlier this year, I think
29:21
we've always done a good job to really handle situations
29:24
and play good baseball when we need to. I know
29:29
we've talked about it a lot when it's you know,
29:31
great pitching versus great offense, and that's kind of what
29:33
the series is. But at least for me, I'm confident
29:37
that it could go in the opposite direction.
29:39
Speaker 4: Now.
29:40
Speaker 5: I know, I am a homer, you know, I am
29:41
a UNC guy, so I gotta fight that fence. But
29:45
I think this offense is a little bit better and
29:47
a lot of offenses they've had to play interesting.
29:50
Speaker 1: Uh, Jake, I want to go to you here because obviously,
29:54
despite your basketball fandom, you you're a pretty neutral source here.
29:59
I'm curious, man, do you do you see it kind
30:01
of like we do? Is this again, Georgia Tech's mammoth
30:04
offense against a equality pitching staff.
30:09
Speaker 4: I think it. I mean, I think it is. I
30:10
think every time Georgia Tech plays in general, as they're
30:14
gonna be on the offense and what kind of show
30:16
they're gonna be able to put on against whoever they're
30:18
going up against. But like the things that I had,
30:20
you know, the things that I had written down here
30:22
to watch was one, who's like which team's pitching holds
30:26
up the most? Like we know that we know what
30:28
the talent is on the UNC side, on the pitching side,
30:30
like they have the draft talent, just the talent in general.
30:33
And then you know, Georgia Tech's pitching staff has been
30:36
really good these last like three weekends, so they can
30:38
also pitch the ball two. But it's gonna be you know,
30:41
who comes out, who comes out the hottest? You know,
30:45
I think I think whoever can I think if somebody
30:47
can come out and you know, establish a lead at
30:50
some point, like we know, like like I just mentioned,
30:52
these pitching staffs are both really good, it's gonna be
30:54
it's gonna be hard for either team to you know,
30:57
you know, make it make a comeback against some of
30:59
these that we're gonna see this weekend. But yeah, I
31:03
think you know anything like like you talked about, I
31:05
think anytime Georgia Tech's on the field, we're we're looking
31:07
at we're looking at their hitters, and you know, I'm
31:10
sure all the numbers are the same as what we've
31:11
been saying, uh these last you know, three months, feels like.
31:16
But uh, yeah, they're they're gonna they're gonna hit I
31:19
think that's for.
31:19
Speaker 1: Sure, sure, Jake, we will start with you, uh to
31:25
make predictions on this game. Are you gonna take Georgia
31:27
Tech or are you gonna go with you? And see.
31:32
Speaker 4: I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go Georgia Tech. I think
31:35
they've been I think they've They're pitching has kind of
31:39
exceeded what we thought that we were gonna get out
31:42
of this pitching staff here recently, especially, and I think
31:44
their offense can hang with anybody in the country. So
31:46
I'm gonna go with them.
31:48
Speaker 1: Very good. JB will go to you. You do have
31:52
Josh's thoughts and selections as well. I know you have
31:55
those pulled up, So I'm gonna ask you to give
31:58
us Josh's thoughts and then his pick and then give
32:00
us your own as well.
32:02
Speaker 5: Yeah, So Josh, he said, it pains me, but it's
32:05
hard to pick against that offense after what they did
32:08
FSU's pitching staff last weekend, which leads into who he
32:11
picked Georgia Tech. Now, unlike you know, this unfaithful tar
32:16
Hill fan, I am gonna take the tar Hills myself.
32:18
You know I will stand by it if I go
32:21
down on the sinking ship. I'm gonna go down on
32:23
the sinking ship. So but I really think this tar
32:26
Hill team it's better than the Florida State team we
32:29
saw play last weekend.
32:30
Speaker 1: So I love that, and I'm definitely hey, I can't
32:35
pick against your team. I get it, I get it completely.
32:38
But if you're on the sinking ship, I guess I'll
32:41
salute you as you go down. Buddy, I'm gonna have
32:42
to take Georgia Tech here. I can't. I can't make
32:45
any cute picks anymore. Jb I'm tied for first now
32:47
I gotta I gotta get back on top.
32:49
Speaker 5: I'll take the game of this. You know it helps
32:51
me out, so it would help you out.
32:54
Speaker 1: You would love that. I bet Let's move on, Jake
32:57
to some SEC action, because we've got two teams that
33:01
suffered some tough losses against in state, right or excuse me,
33:04
against just hard rivals. Last week Alabama taking on Texas.
33:09
I'm curious, Jake, what do you think the major story
33:11
is in this game?
33:14
Speaker 4: So just so just the story in general right now.
33:17
I think Texas Is has switched up their rotation this weekend.
33:21
I believe it's gonna be uh, villenis on Friday or Thursday,
33:25
I don't remember what day this was starting on, but
33:27
he's gonna go game one Riojas, game two in Harrison,
33:31
in that order, whatever days it is. But this seems
33:34
to make uh. I mean, it makes sense to me
33:38
in you know, in multiple ways, Like to me, you know,
33:41
Dylan Villanus, he's the most talented, you know, pitcher on
33:44
this team. It makes sense for him to go there.
33:48
There's an advantage for him pitching some days if you're
33:50
typically getting the next the other teams, you know, worse
33:52
of the three starters. But like you want your best
33:55
guy to go on Friday. I think this was kind
33:56
of an inevitable move. At some point this year we
33:59
were gonna see dealing with Valanas going Fridays, and I
34:01
think just him him not getting the pitch last weekend
34:05
kind of combined with you know, Riojas's you know, recent struggles.
34:08
I think it just makes total sense for him to
34:11
kind of get an extra data, maybe figure some things out.
34:13
Get Valanis on there since he should be, you know,
34:16
more than fully rested. And then the other thing for
34:19
Texas for me is, you know, they also need their
34:23
offensive guys to continue, I guess, to produce. Like Aiden
34:26
Robbins is just hitting just the cover off the ball
34:29
right now, and he needs to, you know, keep that
34:31
up against Alabama. You know, Carson Tani and Anthony Pack
34:34
they're both hitting really well. They have other guys in
34:36
the lineup that's hitting really well, like they need to
34:38
they need to keep that up. I can let JB
34:41
hit some some points about Alabama, but uh, for Texas,
34:44
it's gonna be interesting to watch the the the how,
34:47
the how the pitching checks out and how these if
34:49
they are if those offensive stars can keep going.
34:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, JB. Jake said it. I think it's it's a
34:56
great question because after kind of surging through so the
35:00
SEC and up a ton of outlets ranking certainly ours,
35:04
what's it gonna take this week for Alabama against arguably
35:07
their toughest test yet to see the Todd roll again.
35:11
Speaker 4: Man.
35:12
Speaker 5: Yeah, for Alabama, I mean it really is a tall order,
35:15
especially having to go on the road this weekend after
35:17
having an Arkansas at home who was really scuffling. I
35:20
think it's really gonna take the offense getting back on track.
35:22
They were close in all these games, but the offense
35:24
couldn't get the last key hit to really put them
35:27
ahead and finish games off. So I think it's gonna
35:30
be all about the offense. Can they get to Valantis early?
35:32
Can they get to Riojas early? You know all those guys.
35:34
It depends on how they can really get to them.
35:36
And I think it's kind of like Texas A and M.
35:39
They put Texas on their heels. They got them in
35:41
bad situations, they really got the momentum rolling against them.
35:45
I think that's what they have to do to beat Texas,
35:46
especially at home. When Texas I believe right now we yeah,
35:50
they're twenty and two at home this season, So that
35:53
is a really tough order for Alabama.
35:57
Speaker 1: We'll start with Josh. If you'll give me his thoughts
35:59
on his pick, then we'll do you after that.
36:01
Speaker 4: JB.
36:02
Speaker 5: Yeah, Josh, he's going to pick Texas. Which I think
36:06
is kind of obvious here for a lot of US
36:09
Bama's offense isn't good enough to overcome that. Texas pitching
36:11
staff and being back at home after last weekend should
36:14
help Texas big time, which I agree. I'll be going
36:16
with Texas as well. I think Texas is just too
36:19
much firepower for Alabama to handle.
36:21
Speaker 1: All right, very good, Jake, Curious where you're gonna go
36:25
with this one, Buddy.
36:28
Speaker 4: I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go with Texas. I like
36:32
I like the way they match up against this Alabama
36:34
team that you know hasn't played you know, they have
36:38
played great defense here as a flate either. So I'm
36:41
gonna I'm gonna go with the with the Texas at home.
36:46
Speaker 1: Oh all right, well, break out the brooms. I'm taking
36:49
Texas as well.
36:50
Speaker 4: This is.
36:52
Speaker 1: We didn't really mention it. But what's gonna happen here
36:54
is you're gonna take Alabama or he could take Jim
36:55
SLOs Nigel, and I guess I'll roll with Texas two
36:58
weeks in a row. Yikes, what happened? All right, let's
37:01
move on, jb I know that he's not here to
37:04
talk about it, and yet we can't talk about Auburn
37:07
and not have Josh lead off the discussion, right, So
37:09
what would happen Auburn taking on our favorite bipolar team
37:14
in Florida, which is going to show up Doctor Florida
37:17
or mister Gators. What is Josh thinking about this series? JB.
37:21
Speaker 5: Josh basically said that he's banking on Florida being inconsistent
37:25
as always, which is going to lead them to having
37:26
a tough weekend and his Auburn Tigers winning out.
37:29
Speaker 1: So, Josh, that inconsistency. I think for a minute we
37:35
would have said Auburn was among that inconsistent group of teams.
37:39
But maybe the last month or so they've really righted
37:41
the ship in my mind, and I think that this
37:43
is a solid pitching staff whose offense has started showing up,
37:47
especially when they need to show up. So, JB, what's
37:50
your pick going to be? What's your onlook for this game?
37:55
Speaker 5: I mean, that's that's one of the tough ones here
37:58
when you go down the list, I think I'm gonna
38:00
take Florida. I'm gonna go with Florida coming out and
38:04
really showing the dominant pitching that we've seen recently, and
38:07
I think that's what's gonna push him over the top
38:10
in this especially with Auburn's offense kind of being really inconsistent.
38:13
I think the elite pitching from Florida might be too
38:15
much for them to answer.
38:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, we certainly have seen Florida look elite on the
38:20
mound at times. Jake, where are you leaning here?
38:23
Speaker 2: Man?
38:23
Speaker 1: Tigers or Gators?
38:27
Speaker 4: I think I'm I think I'm gonna go with JB.
38:29
I'm gonna pick Florida as well. I'm really I'm really
38:32
interested in this. In this Friday game, you know it's
38:35
gonna be Aidan King versus Andreas Alvarez. I think I
38:38
think Alvarez has the lowest e ra A among qualified
38:43
SEC pitchers right now. Aidan King is like the fourth
38:45
We just saw him take, you know, a perfect game
38:47
and whatever it was, the eighth inning or whatever I
38:49
mean it was. It was crazy performance. He's he's hot
38:52
right now, you know it. It could come down to
38:54
what version of Liam Peterson do we get. I think
38:57
we talk about that almost every time we talk about
38:59
Florida too. But like you know, he'll give up three
39:01
runs and then he'll go zero, then he'll give up
39:03
six and then he'll give up zero or one, Like,
39:06
what version of him are we going to get? I
39:08
think you know them coming back home. And then, like
39:12
JB talked about the inconsistencies of the Auburn offense as well,
39:15
I think I think it matches up well for Florida,
39:17
So I'll take the Gators.
39:20
Speaker 1: So I'm in an interesting vote here. I think the
39:23
smart move for me is to balance the graphic and
39:25
also stick close to Josh. That way, if he drops
39:27
a game, I drop a game. But if he gains
39:30
a game, I'll take a game as well in our overall,
39:32
so I'll take Auburn balance it out. I do think
39:34
I like Auburn as a team more than Florida, but
39:37
I think Florida's ceiling is higher than offense. To kind
39:40
of summarize my generalized thoughts there, when Liam Peterson is on,
39:46
he's i mean, among the best pitchers in college baseball.
39:49
I don't think any of us would disagree with it.
39:51
It's just again, who are we going to see show up?
39:55
He is essentially Florida and a single player in that regard.
39:58
All right, let's move on some big ten, shall we.
40:01
Speaker 4: Uh.
40:02
Speaker 1: Jake will come to you here at USC gonna take
40:05
on Nebraska. A couple of ranked teams going at it.
40:08
Some people may say who is the third best team?
40:11
Who's the second best team in the Big Ten as
40:14
of right now? I think this matchup will go a
40:16
long way to the sight. Again, what's your outlook for
40:18
this contest?
40:21
Speaker 4: Yeah, I was just getting ready to say this is
40:23
potentially a battle for the for the second or third
40:25
best team in the Big Ten, depending on how you
40:27
feel about Oregon at this point. But you know, for
40:31
you know, Nebraska's coming off of you know, a hart
40:34
fought series loss at Oregon last weekend. But like something
40:38
to note, like it was at Oregon and the entire
40:41
like the entire series, all three of those games combined
40:43
was decided by just four runs. Like it was really close.
40:49
It came down to the very last game, I think,
40:50
I think Oregon scored in like the sixth or something
40:53
like that, and then like they just held the lead there.
40:55
So like really tight series. I still view those teams
40:58
as really close along with Nebraska, and I think this
41:01
could just decide, you know, who is the second best
41:05
team in that conference. But uh yeah, again for Nebraska,
41:09
like I think so I saw ty Horn move to
41:12
the bullpen. He was he's you know, he's the usual
41:14
starter for them. He pitched, I think he pitched in
41:16
this past midweek for them. And then like on the
41:21
on the offensive side, Uh, they got guys you know,
41:24
Mac Moyer, Dylan carry Case, Anderson was really good last
41:27
weekend against Oregon Jet Bucks hitting the ball well for him. Uh,
41:31
They're gonna need those guys to continue to hit because,
41:33
you know, after the after the u c l A
41:35
series for USC, like Mason Edwards, Grant Govel, Andrew Johnson,
41:40
they're all back to their normal selves. They they really
41:42
pitched well. They looked like they didn't miss a step
41:45
at all last weekend. So they're they're gonna have their
41:47
hands full.
41:48
Speaker 1: I think, well, Jake, let's let's keep you rolling then, man,
41:51
in this game, who are you gonna take? USC or Nebraska?
41:56
Speaker 4: I'm gonna go USC. I trust the pitchers. I think
42:00
that I don't think this Nebraska offense is just like unstoppable.
42:05
I think that I think they're gonna have some success there.
42:07
So I'm going to USC.
42:09
Speaker 1: Word JB will go to you first. Then we'll get
42:12
Josh's thoughts after you've wrapped up yours.
42:15
Speaker 5: Yeah, so I'll bring up an interesting fact I guess
42:17
for you to chew on Drew for you to think
42:19
about here. Nebraska this season is sixteen and one at home.
42:23
USC on the road is eight and seven. They've only
42:26
had one big road trip technically that was Northwestern. They
42:30
went two and one in that series. So Northwestern, I think,
42:35
no offense to your boy Q track Jake, much worse
42:38
quality opponent than Nebraska.
42:40
Speaker 1: And Nebraska.
42:41
Speaker 5: If you've ever seen Nebraska or their fan base at
42:44
any Big Ten tournament, you know how packed this game
42:47
is going to be. Give me Nebraska no doubt. I
42:52
think they're big red, They're gonna come out in force,
42:55
and this is something that USC they're not used to.
42:57
The USC UCLA doesn't draw a crowd. It was one
43:00
of the best series of the year. Nobody cares about
43:03
college baseball that much or that definitely to be there
43:07
and chant and everything that they're going to experience when
43:09
they go up there to Nebraska, it's a whole other world.
43:12
I think Nebraska is going to be great. Mason Edwards
43:15
earlier in the year two, his velocity and stuff was
43:17
significantly down in a game when they went up there
43:20
in the cold weather, So I think that's something to
43:22
think about too. I just think Nebraska, there's a lot
43:26
of things that are going really well for them and
43:27
for USC coming off of that lost to Long Beach
43:30
State two brutal, So I'm rocking Nebraska.
43:34
Speaker 1: Well, you actually referenced something I was going to be
43:37
pointing out myself. Is I wonder what Mason Edwards specifically
43:41
he and Govel are going to look like in the
43:43
cold weather, because I thought they had one road trip
43:47
to a chillier climate and I forgot the results, but
43:51
it was Northwestern. It was a two to one weekend.
43:54
But yes, coming off of the loss that we saw,
43:56
I was curious if it was going to be only
43:58
me taking Nebraska. The jay we ride Buddy were Nebraska.
44:03
What was Josh's thoughts? He is he taking?
44:05
Speaker 5: Josh took USC, and he said it's a must win series,
44:08
cannot afford to drop this one if they want any
44:11
chance of hosting, which I agree. I think it is
44:13
a must win. We've talked about that at lengths, so
44:15
it definitely is for them. I think it's gonna be
44:17
very hard fought, but I think also for Nebraska. At
44:19
the same time, it's a must win for them. You
44:21
put this on their resume, it puts them in a
44:24
really great spot to host. Nearly locks them up too.
44:27
So I think that's a really great thought process there
44:31
from him as well.
44:33
Speaker 1: Yeah, it certainly must win. I agree. It's gonna be
44:36
an interesting split to see on the graphic. All right, JB.
44:41
Will stick with you talking about Georgia and Arkansas. Uh,
44:45
this is a game where I think we look at
44:47
these two teams as you know, high pedigree teams coming
44:51
into the season. We expected. I think these were kind
44:53
of universal top ten teams. As a matter of fact,
44:56
one of them looked really good. Recently one of them stumbled,
44:59
and yeah, both pulled off really big wins this past week.
45:03
Who's gonna keep it rolling this week?
45:04
Speaker 4: JB?
45:06
Speaker 5: Yeah, this is one that is very much a toss
45:10
of the coin for me. I think there's not a
45:13
key factor that I think, you know, really sticks out
45:16
to you and either side of the ball.
45:22
Speaker 4: Wow.
45:22
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think I'm gonna take another swing here, Okay,
45:28
and I think I'm gonna take the Razorbacks here. I
45:31
think I'm gonna go with the Razorbacks. I think they
45:33
stay hot, They're going home. They probably need this series
45:36
right now too. If they want a shot in hosting,
45:38
they really need to win this series this weekend. So
45:41
I think I'm gonna rock with them. Josh. On the
45:43
other hand, you know, we're oil and water. So he's
45:45
hitting Georgia. Both teams and men them are going in
45:48
opposite directions. So the weirdness of the sec means it
45:51
should regress to the mean here, and he's taken Georgia.
45:54
So that's what we got.
45:56
Speaker 1: If you hear Josh saying that nonsense, yeah, you're right,
45:59
he's right. Excuse me, Josh, you're right at home, good
46:01
gold Jake. Georgia and Arkansas. Man, who can afford to
46:06
lose this one? I don't know.
46:11
Speaker 4: I mean, who can afford to lose it? I mean,
46:13
I guess, I guess Georgia could afford to lose it
46:16
more than Arkansas, just to just to answer that. But
46:19
I'm gonna pick. My pick is gonna be Arkansas. You know, Georgia,
46:23
they're in kind of uncharted territory right now. You know,
46:26
they just lost their first series of the year, and
46:29
it's the complete opposite for Arkansas. They just swept around
46:32
hot Alabama team on the road. Now they get to
46:34
come back home. So I'm gonna go. I'm gonna pick Arkansas.
46:39
Speaker 1: Well said, I did say a minute ago that Georgia
46:42
won their last series. Excuse me, Florida did win that series.
46:44
I'm so sorry, Gottas correct. I'm really I'm really caught
46:48
in a rock and hard place here, guys. I think
46:52
I'm gonna go. I think I'm gonna go Georgia again,
46:54
but rather than in in like a preventative sense from
46:57
where I took Auburn, I think Georgia has the team
47:00
I trust more right now, which, again, coming into the season,
47:03
I never thought I would have said that I need
47:06
Arkansas's bats to have another weekend where they look.
47:10
Speaker 5: More pompetent.
47:15
Speaker 1: Yeah, confident I leave, they're confident another weekend before I
47:17
could really really sink my teeth into them, for sure.
47:21
Jake gonna go to you to this one UAB South Florida.
47:26
Speaker 5: Man.
47:27
Speaker 1: How about a mid major game before you get into
47:29
your thoughts though, Jake, I'd love it if you could
47:31
reference the most recent mid major top thirty, let us
47:35
know where both of these teams are, and then give
47:36
us your thoughts and your pixer. So right now.
47:42
Speaker 4: UAB did lose last weekend, so that I dropped them
47:46
down to thirteen, and then USF ended up moving one
47:51
spot up to ten. They lost at UTSA, a really
47:55
good team. I think they were more I was going
47:58
to try to leave them where they were. They were
47:59
just more moved up because some other teams had to
48:01
move down. Nonetheless, h U A B. You know, they're
48:05
eight and four and South Florida is six and six
48:08
in the American this year, So this is a really
48:12
important series for in terms of seeding for that conference tournament.
48:16
Uh you know who you know who ends up, you know,
48:18
if this turns out to be like a tiebreaker type
48:20
thing at the end of the year, Like, this is
48:21
an important series in that conference. So yeah, just just
48:27
going in, going into the series itself. U A B's
48:29
Friday and Saturday starters right now, Mason Steele, Mason Steele
48:34
and Carter uh Samuelson. He's only made two starts, but
48:38
they're gonna be good enough to keep them in the game.
48:42
And this team can also Uh, this team can also
48:45
hit two. Wesley Helms, Andrew Hunt, Kevin Hall, John Paul
48:51
Heads got double digit homers, like this team can can
48:54
swing the bats, and then for us F it's kind
48:56
of similar. They have a couple of good starters that
48:58
when Allen Alisaya Michael they both got roughed up a
49:01
little bit last weekend, but they're typically really good. Caden
49:04
Smith was really good in that game on Sunday to
49:06
pick up the win and prevent the sweep. They also
49:11
can hit. I worry about them hitting for as much
49:14
power as UAB is gonna be able to bring. But
49:18
this is gonna be a really a really fun series
49:20
in this conference, and it could come down to, you know,
49:23
that Sunday game and who gets who gets the best
49:25
in that one. And I assume you gonna want me
49:28
to go ahead and make my pick. I'll pick. I'll
49:30
pick South Florida. They're playing at home. I think just
49:33
in general, they're you know, slightly better. I like the offense,
49:37
and I think they're a little bit more well rounded
49:39
offense than you AB. So I'm gonna go with South Florida.
49:43
Speaker 1: I'm with you. I'm gonna take us up as well.
49:45
Not to jump in front of JB and Josh, but
49:48
I do think that this is this is a tough one.
49:50
I've kind of been banging a drum for UAB this season.
49:53
I think that they have a very interesting team, but
49:55
I think South Florida is almost just if you're looking
49:57
at it in terms of like a video game, they're
50:00
are just like ticked up two or three points higher
50:02
in every category. It's just a I think it might
50:04
come down to the home field advantage in the sense,
50:06
and I'll take USF in that regard. JB will go
50:10
to you for Josh and then your own thoughts.
50:12
Speaker 5: Sir, Yeah, he's taking USF. He said. Both teams are
50:16
pretty even, so aside with the home team, and hope
50:18
USF can take advantage of uab's inconsistent pitching. One thing,
50:23
I'll note UAB is coming off of a midweek loss
50:26
to Alabama twelve to six. USF went to Miami and
50:29
beat them four to two. And with that being said,
50:32
I'll also take UCF or USF. Not UCF, my bad USF.
50:37
So yeah, clean sweet for the boys on this one.
50:41
Speaker 1: Another Okay, interesting, very good. Moving on, JB, We're gonna
50:46
let you talk about how about an ACC matchup. It's
50:49
been a minute since we've had one. On the episode
50:51
in c State taking on Wake Forest, JB what's the
50:55
major outlook for this one. I think that these two teams,
50:58
in my mind pretty evenly matched.
51:01
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is Dudent's injury. You know,
51:04
Jacob Duden going down for the season. That's an absolute
51:07
crushing blow for that NC State team. It's been one
51:11
of the best pitchers in the ACC this year, really
51:14
was putting together a great season and it was really
51:16
unfortunate injury. And I think it was like the eighth
51:19
inning of the Notre Dame game. He was cruising and
51:21
then throw a pitch how to get pulled. Nobody really
51:23
knew what happened. They thought it was just pitch count
51:25
he was done, but in reality it was an arm injury.
51:28
So sad end of the year for Duden. Hope he's
51:31
able to get back soon, you know, be ready for
51:33
the draft. But uh, with that being said, I think,
51:37
you know, this is where Wake can really take advantage
51:39
with the plethora of arms that they have and just
51:41
the a massive amount of talent that they can throw
51:44
into a game where State probably does not have that
51:47
same advantage that they have somebody to just pick up
51:50
where he left off so easily. This game's also at
51:54
Wake Forest, which is a boombox. As we all know
51:56
if you've ever watched a game that's been played there,
51:58
ball flies out of there like nobody's business. It's gonna
52:02
be a tight one.
52:03
Speaker 4: My pick.
52:04
Speaker 5: I'm probably gonna even though they lost me a series
52:06
last weekend, I'm gonna go with Wake again. I mean,
52:08
I just have to trust that, you know, this pitching
52:11
gets it done against the State team, even though I
52:13
think it's a very, very very talented State team. But
52:16
I'm gonna go with Wake. And for Josh, he's taken State.
52:20
He said Wake's offense has been too cold and this
52:22
isn't the pitching staff you want to face when you're
52:24
trying to get out of a slump. So Josh has
52:27
a different opinion on this, But I'm gonna go with
52:29
Wake Forest.
52:32
Speaker 1: Jake, I love saying it every week. Your name rhymes
52:35
with Wake. Is that any clue? Is that a clue
52:37
of where you're going here?
52:42
Speaker 4: Unfortunately it's still not. I'm gonna go with n C State,
52:45
I think, I mean Wake Wake. They lost their last
52:50
series to Miami and they only scored four total runs
52:55
in the process of losing that series to Miami. I
52:58
can't I don't. I don't want to take I don't
53:00
want to pick that offense at all. I mean, I
53:02
know they can, I know they can pitch. LaVona said,
53:04
the boys are gonna are gonna be are gonna be
53:06
rocking there. But I can't I can't trust their offense
53:10
right now, I'm gonna go in State.
53:13
Speaker 1: I want. I want so badly to pick Wake here.
53:16
I love LaVona's specifically, but I mean, they have such
53:20
a good pitching staff. But it's like you said, man,
53:22
four runs over a weekend. It's just so sketchy and JB.
53:26
I hate leaving you out on a limb because, man,
53:29
I think you want to.
53:34
Speaker 5: Before you make the pick, I'll give you one last
53:36
thing to make you like this. Wake is sixteen and
53:39
four at home and NC State is three and five
53:41
on the road. So I'll give you that before you
53:43
make this pick as well. But you know, you take
53:46
your you take whatever you'd like here.
53:49
Speaker 1: You know what, JB. We ride, brother, Let's go Wake,
53:53
Let's go Wake. I came into this season talking about
53:56
how I think Dalton Wentz is a dude. I came
53:59
into this season talking about lavonas and he showed out
54:02
for me. Maybe this is just a corner turning opportunity.
54:06
It's the time I feel I feel really bad about
54:09
the spit. Jam. Yeah, this is you can take dat.
54:13
Speaker 5: I won't shame you if you go back, but I just.
54:17
Speaker 1: Can't go back on my word. I'm taking a week
54:19
because it rhymes with Jake. That's the deciding factor. All right,
54:23
mister Barjorie, it is time to talk because last weekend, Jake,
54:27
as you very well recall, we saw America's volunteers of
54:32
the University of Tennessee. We saw them storm into Mississippi.
54:37
We saw them shut down Mississippi State's Bulldogs with a
54:41
sweep and starkful. This weekend, the rebels of Ole miss
54:45
are coming to Knoxville. Jake, what's the major story for
54:48
this game? And who you taking? Series? And who you take.
54:54
Speaker 4: I'll start. I'll start with Ole Miss. Uh. You know
54:56
they're coming off back to back series wins over Florida
55:00
and a huge sweep over lsu Uh. And then you
55:03
know four of those five wins that they got in
55:05
that stretch, we're decided three runs are less. So I mean,
55:09
being able to win close games is a skill that
55:11
not a lot of teams have and you know, some teams,
55:15
you know, just just a lot of teams are just
55:17
on the losing end of those close ones. But the
55:18
fact that ole miss Is is on the winning side
55:20
of a lot of these close games, it says a
55:22
lot about them. The starting pitching, it's been really good
55:26
for the rebels in that stretch. You know, Hunter, Elliott,
55:28
k Town's and Taylor Rave. I think they have a
55:30
nice combination there of starters that that can you know,
55:33
that can they can do the job for them. Uh.
55:36
You know, they could stand to pick it up a
55:37
little bit on offense and not have to worry so
55:39
much about those close ones. But you know, if they're
55:41
if they're pitching the way that they have been and
55:43
they're able to kind of clutch up in the right times,
55:45
I don't think they have. I don't think they're too
55:48
too much concerned about it. Uh. And then for for Tennessee,
55:51
you know, as we as we discussed, the vibes could
55:54
not be higher right now for the balls. You know,
55:56
as they seem to found a formula that they like
55:59
on the pitching side, as long as it doesn't doesn't
56:01
go too off the rails. It seems like a really
56:04
solid plan. You know, Mac to Appenzeller on Friday, Coons
56:09
to Arvidston on Saturday, and then Blanco to Frederick to
56:12
Rudy on Sunday and the rest will you know, filling
56:14
the gaps when it's needed. But you know, if they
56:16
can stick to that plan, uh, and and all goes
56:20
the way that they wanted to, that seems to be
56:22
really good formula for success for them on the mound.
56:26
And then last weekend we saw a really well well
56:28
balanced Tennessee offense. And that's the first time we've been
56:30
able to say that in a little while now. We've
56:33
been talking about the top of the offense hasn't hasn't
56:35
been producing the way that it needs to, and it
56:38
did last weekend. The bottom of the of the lineup
56:40
hit last weekend. You know, they've been inconsistent as a
56:45
whole this year, but there are a ton of positives
56:48
to take from last weekend sweep over Mississippi State. If
56:52
you didn't know Tennessee Septssissippi State last weekend, true, I
56:55
just wanted to let you know that in case you forgot,
57:00
I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be picking the balls. Uh,
57:03
They're they're running hot. They're they're they're hot. Right now,
57:06
I'm coming back to Knoxville. Give me to all right.
57:14
Speaker 1: Thoughts, sir.
57:16
Speaker 5: I'm gonna let Josh go last to see if his
57:19
his saying is true for me personally. You heard the
57:26
song that I played when I came in the building today.
57:29
Speaker 1: I did. I did.
57:30
Speaker 5: Sorry, Jake, you didn't get to hear this. But Drew
57:32
knows where this is going. And the volunteers are gonna
57:35
stay hot, baby, and I'm gonna go GBO all the
57:38
way right here. I think the volunteers are gonna be
57:40
rolling hot. And you know, they had a nice little
57:43
midweek win. I know you guys probably saw it. They
57:46
beat up on, you know, a team from Carolina here.
57:49
They may not be very good in Ashville, but eleven
57:51
to one they give him a nice molly wopping before
57:53
this game is about happened. So I think that that
57:55
shows the offense is feeling good.
57:58
Speaker 1: They're certainly feeling good. One thing I'll point out, how
58:01
about this? I think this is the worst kept secret
58:04
on the podcast. Who I'm picking. I'm picking Tennessee because
58:06
I'm just a bias schmuck and say what you want
58:09
but Jake pointed it out, ole Miss has got a
58:12
hankering for coming in and winning close games. Man, before
58:16
this last weekend, do you know who had a hankerd
58:18
for like just a talent for losing close games, losing
58:21
on a walk off, losing in a million innings by
58:24
a run, Tennessee. So, I mean, ole Miss has got
58:27
that going for him. But you know what they ain't
58:29
got going for him? Heart, grit, what desire, Orange uniforms.
58:36
Speaker 5: They don't have, Elander, they don't have.
58:43
Speaker 1: All day long. Give me Tennessee. All right, let Josh
58:46
rain on some parades. What's it gonna say?
58:48
Speaker 5: We're ready for it. Josh is gonna go with ole Miss?
58:51
And he said, I'm just breaking up what I imagine
58:53
is gonna be a sweep across the board. So I
58:55
wanted to let him be right, because I knew what
58:57
two of you were doing, and I knew what I
58:58
was doing, So I wanted to give it the night
59:00
satisfaction of at least acting in spirit of what he
59:04
was going.
59:04
Speaker 1: To do, being being a troll even not here.
59:08
Speaker 5: I love it exactly well.
59:10
Speaker 1: On Sunday, whenever he says he thought it was gonna
59:13
happen all along. I'll let him have his I'll let
59:15
him have his moment and say sure, that's just all right,
59:19
great episode as always, boys, Jake, gonna go to you first,
59:23
tell the folks what you're working on between our episodes
59:25
and where they can find you between episodes of college.
59:29
Speaker 4: Uh, you can follow me on Twitter at Jake Barge.
59:31
I got a few things going on over there. Got
59:33
them major rankings as usual, and then mine and Josh's bracketology.
59:38
We spent you know, Drew was not exaggerating. We spent
59:41
you know, the better part of two hours working on
59:43
that the other night, so we would appreciate all the
59:47
love and you guys to just go check that out
59:48
at least just look at the graphic because it was
59:50
there was a lot of hard work that went into it.
59:53
And then uh, content side on the site. I do
59:56
have a live looks coming out only seeing two good
1:00:02
Rutgers series. I played Michigan a couple weeks ago and
1:00:04
I got Ucla this past weekend. I'm gonna have some
1:00:07
highlights from Michigan, Ucla and Rutgers from those two series,
1:00:11
So Ben look out for that awesome man.
1:00:14
Speaker 1: Looking forward to seeing reading and experiencing all of that
1:00:17
with you, JB. The same questions to you, sir, what
1:00:20
are you working on and where can folks find you?
1:00:21
Between our episodes?
1:00:22
Speaker 5: Yeah, at Jbnerscorse to Bossion on Twitter. I've been, you know,
1:00:26
working with the rest of these guys on our new
1:00:28
lists that were coming out with the College two hundred.
1:00:30
So that'll be very fun to see very very soon
1:00:34
this week and all be at the GT series here
1:00:36
in Chapel Hill, so that'll be great. Probably see some
1:00:39
content from that and yeah, that'll be it.
1:00:41
Speaker 1: It's gonna be outstanding. I can't wait to see that
1:00:44
as well. Like the boys said, we've got stuff coming
1:00:47
up at the site. The top two hundred and CBA
1:00:50
names for the twenty twenty six draft is dropping before
1:00:52
the end of the month, as well as the top
1:00:54
three hundred and thirteen. That's ten rounds combined high school
1:00:57
and prep, high school and college prep names and NCAA
1:01:01
names combined in that list for our very first combined
1:01:04
list of the season. We've got a mock draft we're
1:01:06
working on coming out soon. I've got a lot of
1:01:08
looks from last week's series as well, a lot of
1:01:11
stuff going on you can follow me at Drew is okay,
1:01:13
that's Twitter, Instagram, Blue Sky, etc. Etc. I want to
1:01:16
advise you Prospects Live dot Com membership starts a low
1:01:19
seven dollars a month for the best baseball content across
1:01:21
the internet. We've got tools, tips, tricks, stuff for your
1:01:24
card hobby. Do you want to know about your favorite
1:01:26
pro teams prospects? We've got all the covers there. Your
1:01:29
fantasy team needs a lift, trust me, mine does and
1:01:31
I go there for all of the tips and tricks,
1:01:33
plus the College Daily Sheet, the Daily Sheet for MiLB,
1:01:37
all kinds of incredible content at prospects live dot com.
1:01:39
But we do want to advise you, of course, keep
1:01:42
enjoying the free content such as college Baseball. Now, if
1:01:45
you're watching this on YouTube, want to ask you to
1:01:47
comment down below the weekend series you're most looking forward
1:01:50
to that we talked about today. Let us know who
1:01:52
you're picking as well. Until next time, next Sunday, we're
1:01:55
gonna be breaking down all of the weekend action as
1:01:58
well as how pickam went to invite you to come
1:02:01
back and join us. For Jake, for JB, for Josh,
1:02:04
I'm Drew and we will see you next time for
1:02:07
that episode of college baseball. Now take care, Bye bye.
1:02:10
Remember to be nice to yourself, Remember to be nice
1:02:12
to each other.