No. 11 Duke at No. 1 Wake Forest
We knew the Blue Devils (11-1) were going to have one of the most complete pitching staffs in the nation, but the outlandish offense has been quite a surprise with the losses from last year’s club. They are batting .365 as a team currently and have outhomered their opponents 35:5 so far and the always dangerous, Devin Obee, has a slash line of .476/.905/.531. Stud, LHP Jonathan Santucci has yet to surrender a run or even an extra-base hit and Charlie Bielenson leads the nation with 5 saves. The Demon Deacons (11-1) are loaded on the mound as well but have yet to show the dominant offense that they featured a year ago. The rotation of Hartle, Burns and Massey are more than living up to expectations as they are a combined (8-0), but the bullpen is still a work in progress. Transfer Adam Tellier leads the team with a .413 average and has already accumulated 6 doubles and 5 home runs. This looks like the series of the year so far and it would be hard for Duke to be playing any better putting them in position for the upset.
Cozys' Pick: Duke
This matchup kind of feels like the two top teams in the conference opening up ACC play against each other. Duke has arguably looked like the top team in the country with the eye test while Wake Forest was the unanimous Preseason No. 1 team. The Santucci vs. Hartle matchup will get much of the well-deserved hype but I still like Wake’s backend of the rotation with a longer track record than Duke’s; this will for sure have the feel of a June series.
Vin's Pick: Wake Forest
No. 14 Texas at No. 24 Texas Tech
The Longhorns (7-5) have been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde act in the last couple weeks. Two weekends ago, they shutout Cal Poly three games in a row and last weekend were swept at the Astro Foundation College Classic before losing at home this week to arch-rival Texas A&M. RHP Lebarron Johnson Jr. is a legit Friday night ace, but the rest of the rotation is a bit unsettled to this point. They can slug a bit and are averaging almost 2 home runs per game, but they are also averaging over 7 free bases per game on the defensive side, giving them some issues. The Red Raiders (10-2) have been on an offensive tear like few teams have shown in recent history as they are averaging over 18 runs per game in the last two weeks. As a team they slash .364/.631/.488 and are 15 for 15 in stolen bases as they pressure their opponents in every aspect of the offensive game. RHP Kyle Robinson has been good in the rotation sitting (2-1) with a 3.14 ERA but no other pitcher with multiple starts has an ERA under 7.00. This weekend will be all about the offense and Texas Tech has one of the best in the nation.
Cozys' Pick: Texas Tech
The second matchup between two Top 25 teams takes place in the Lone Star state as the Longhorns are coming off a tough 0-3 weekend in Houston. The Tech offense can mash and Texas’ big weakness right now looks like their pitching staff. I still believe in Texas long term but the matchup here favors the Red Raiders.
Vin's Pick: Texas Tech
San Diego at No. 17 Dallas Baptist
By the end of this weekend, the Toreros (6-5) will have played 9 of their 14 games against teams that were ranked in the Top-25 at the time of their competition. They haven’t gone any kind of run yet and the offense has been the bright spot for most of the season. Jack Gurevitch is batting a robust .477 and Jack Costello has done the heavy lifting driving in 18 runs so far. The pitching on the other hand hasn’t round into form yet and they are still looking for answers in the back end of games. The Patriots (11-1) meanwhile, have been playing like a club that should make a serious run at their first ever trip to Omaha. Their sticks are in overdrive, they are hitting .322 as a team with 28 home runs and they have already swiped 24 bags on their way to scoring 9.5 runs per game. Beyond that, they have only committed 6 errors behind a pitching staff where almost every starting pitcher has an ERA in the 3.00 range or below. San Diego is battle tested but Dallas Baptist looks even better than their No. 17 national ranking and play well at home, so they should take the weekend.
Cozys' Pick: Dallas Baptist
This is a super interesting matchup between two teams that are postseason-caliber. The Patriots have been excellent thus far and while the Torreros haven’t racked up the wins they still have a series victory against Arizona and fought Texas hard opening weekend. DBU seems locked in right now but San Diego is not going to get steamrolled either.
Vin's Pick: Dallas Baptist
Boston College at No. 20 NC State
The Todd Interdonato era in Boston is off to an outstanding start as the Eagles (7-3) play their traditional, fundamentally sound version of baseball. They have been virtually flawless on the season with the leather as they have only registered 4 errors all year. They aren’t quite equipped to play Interdonato offense yet as his clubs typically steal 100-plus bags per year, but they do average 8 runs per game. The pitching needs to stabilize, the team ERA of 6.44 currently will be stressed as ACC play hits this weekend. The Wolfpack (9-2) has a deep and dangerous lineup that is hitting .337 as a team while they average 2 home runs and 10 runs per game. Transfer Alec Makarewicz has been of fire batting .404 with 5 doubles, 5 home runs and an amazing 24 RBI already. The concerning part is that the pitching staff surrenders almost 5 walks per game, and they are only fielding .966 resulting in over 8 free bases per game. As they open ACC play, these clubs are both on the uptick, but NC State is tough at home and should open league play in winning style.
Cozys' Pick: NC State
The Wolfpack have won six straight after taking care of business against Towson while Boston College went 2-1 at the MLB Desert Invitational and then took two of three against UT Arlington. Todd Interdonato has a veteran club that should pose a challenge as NC State’s pitching will have to be more consistent if they want to keep the BC offense at bay.
Vin's Pick: NC State
Northeastern at Old Dominion
The Huskies (6-3) have yet to play a home game and started off the season with a tough series loss at Arizona. Since then, they have gone (5-1) and seem to be surging at the right time as seen by their 7-0 victory at Georgia Tech this week. The margin for error is very thin here as their pitching staff has been off to a slow start, they don’t strike out many hitters and they will give up the free pass often. Tyler MacGregor is off to a monster start with the stick, batting .447, slugging .842 and has tallied 13 RBI but they could really use Mike Sirota returning to All-American form. The Monarchs (8-4) may be the most unlikely winning club in the nation as they are only hitting .220 as a team, only slug .336 and are fielding a well below average .964 so far. The pitching staff is the engine for this team, they allow just 4 runs per game, and they have a sparkling 123:27 K-to-BB ratio as a group. Jacob Gomez is a lockdown closer with 3 saves and the staff has great length. Both clubs are grinders, the game determines how they play, and they just find ways to win. Runs could be hard to come by and I like Old Dominion at home this weekend.
Cozys' Pick: Old Dominion
Two consistent programs that have looked inconsistent at times this year but one will have to emerge victorious. I believe that the Mike Sirota turnaround will come sooner rather than later but the Huskies also have to improve on the mound. They have the staff to do it as Wyatt Scotti and Dennis Colleran are more than talented but they just need an all-around effort for the first time this season.
Vin's Pick: Northeastern
Southern Miss at Louisiana Tech
The Golden Eagles (8-5) are coming off a nice series victory over then ranked Indiana State and lost a tough mid-week contest to Mississippi State. The offense has been quite a struggle thus far, they are only hitting .235 and slugging a slim .366 as they average a little over 5 runs per game. The bright spot is that they do play clean with the glove fielding .985 and are loaded with swing and miss artists on the mound. As a staff they carry a 145:41 K-to-BB ratio, good for over 11 strikeouts per game and they hold opponents to a paltry .222 batting average against. Niko Mazza has been sensation in 3 starts with 2-0 record, ERA of 1.96 and a ridiculous 23:1 K-to-BB ratio. The Bulldogs (12-1) are off to one of the hottest starts in the nation and are extremely tough at home in “The Love Shack”. They are a well-rounded offensive club with a slash line of .312/.485/.423, averaging over 8 runs per game and have outscored their opponents by an absurd 108-to-35 margin. While they are solid defensively, they are pitching at an elite level with a sparkling ERA of 2.48 and they hold their opponents to a batting average of .179 to date. Caden Copeland leads the stable of arms with a 3-0 record and a crazy 0.69 ERA in 3 starts. This will be a battle of two impressive pitching staffs but being at home and having a distinctly better offense should give Louisiana Tech the edge.
Cozys' Pick: Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech dropped their first game of the season as they split the midweek with a good Xavier team while Southern Miss dropped their midweek against Mississippi State built is coming off a weekend win over previously ranked Indiana State. This is a fun deep south matchup between two teams that should be competing at the top of the Sun Belt and Conference USA, respectively. Southern Miss’ pitching has been good but look for vets like Slade Wilks to get going and for the Golden Eagles to take this series on the road.
Vin's Pick: Southern Miss