PREMIUM ANALYSIS: Analyzing the Taylor Jungmann/John Stilson pitching matchup
The final weekend of the regular season began in exciting fashion and here’s our inside look back at Thursday’s college baseball action.
The good
North Carolina: The Tar Heels will face Virginia ace pitcher Danny Hultzen tonight, but what a great way to start the weekend with a 6-0 triumph over the Cavaliers. UNC starting pitcher Patrick Johnson was phenomenal against Virginia, striking out nine batters and allowing just four hits in a complete game shutout. The Tar Heels could put themselves in fantastic shape for a national seed with another win this weekend.
Rice: The Owls really couldn’t have started the weekend in more impressive fashion. The Owls captured a 4-0 win over Southern Mississippi to begin the week, and freshman starting pitcher Austin Kubitza was fantastic. The talented hurler struck out nine batters and allowed just five hits in 8 1/3 shutout innings. He certainly outdueled USM ace Todd McInnis, who allowed four runs on six hits in six innings.
Texas: It was one of the uglier games of the season for both teams, but in the end, Longhorns starting pitcher Taylor Jungmann once again rose to the occasion and made the right pitches late in a 4-2 win over rival Texas A&M. Jungmann struck out a season-high 12 batters and allowed just two runs on seven hits in a complete game performance. Fellow top prospect, A&M starting pitcher John Stilson, had one of his worst outings of the season, striking out just three, walking seven and allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings.
Alabama: The Crimson Tide has a chance to seal things up from a postseason standpoint this weekend against South Carolina. They started the weekend on the right foot with a 2-1 win over the Gamecocks. Alabama veteran starter Nathan Kilcrease was fantastic against the Gamecocks, striking out five and allowing just a run on five hits in a complete game performance. While the Crimson Tide is aiming to nail down a postseason spot, the Gamecocks hope to nail down a national seed.
Florida State: The Seminoles are aiming for a national seed and started the weekend on the right foot with an 8-6 triumph over Clemson. FSU starting pitcher Sean Gilmartin didn’t have his best outing of the season, allowing four runs in seven innings, but the offense picked him up. FSU would be in much better shape with another win this weekend, while the Tigers’ hosting chances are done with another loss to the Seminoles.
The bad
Oklahoma: The Sooners are aiming for an NCAA Regional host this weekend, but started their series against Baylor on a negative note with a 4-2 setback on Thursday. Baylor starting pitcher Logan Verrett was once again fantastic, striking out eight and allowing just two runs on four hits in eight innings. OU starter Michael Rocha was lifted after allowing four runs in 4 2/3 innings. BU suddenly is playing a solid brand of baseball.
Tulane: The Green Wave is trying to nail down a spot in the NCAA tournament, but might have a tough time doing it this weekend after dropping the series opener to East Carolina 5-1. ECU starting pitcher Mike Wright was fantastic, allowing just a run on two hits in six innings. Tulane starter Dave Napoli allowed three runs on nine hits in six innings. Both teams could use a series win to solidify their postseason positions.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks were looking much better from a hosting standpoint a couple of weeks ago when they won a home series over Florida. But now, they lost a series to South Carolina last weekend and dropped the series opener to Ole Miss 2-1. Ole Miss starting pitcher Matt Crouse put together a solid start on Thursday, but it was reliever Jake Morgan’s 2 2/3 innings of shutout ball to end the game that was the difference. Arkansas starting pitcher DJ Baxendale put together another solid start, striking out eight in 8 1/3 innings.
Vanderbilt: It’ll be interesting to see if the Commodores can get back on track the rest of this weekend. They dropped a tough series to Florida at home last weekend and started the Georgia series with a 5-4 loss. Vandy starting pitcher Sonny Gray was just OK on Thursday, striking out six and allowing four runs on nine hits in six innings. Georgia starter Michael Palazzone allowed four runs on eight hits in a complete game performance.
Troy: The Trojans had a night to forget against South Alabama. The Trojans dropped a 9-8 decision to the Jaguars with starting pitcher Tyler Ray allowing eight runs on 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings. With the loss, the Trojans lost the Sun Belt regular season title lead to Florida International. The Trojans need to finish the weekend with a pair of wins to have a chance to earn at least a share of the title.
RPI talk
North Carolina: The Tar Heels took another step forward from an RPI standpoint with a win over Virginia. The Heels climbed to the top spot in the RPI after the victory with a fantastic 42-12 overall record. UNC is now 9-5 vs. RPI Top 25, 14-7 vs. RPI Top 50 and 33-12 vs. RPI Top 100. We get the feeling another win this weekend puts the Heels in great shape for a national seed.
Central Florida: The Knights were very much on the good side of the NCAA bubble entering the weekend, but they need to be careful after losing the home series opener to Marshall on Thursday. The Knights somehow still sit at 22 after the loss with a 34-20 overall record. It’ll be interesting to see if that changes should the Knights lose another game this weekend.
Fresno State: The Bulldogs have slipped in the NCAA hosting pecking order the past couple of weeks, but with a strong weekend against Nevada, could that change their situation? There’s a chance. The NCAA could be looking to give another host to a West Coast program. For now, the Bulldogs are 37-11 with an RPI of 18. Going deeper, the Bulldogs are 2-0 vs. RPI Top 50 and 11-5 vs. RPI Top 100.
Rice: The Owls have a legitimate chance to earn a national seed with a series win over Southern Mississippi this weekend and a strong run through the Conference USA tournament. The Owls climbed to 10 in the latest RPI this morning and have an overall record of 37-17. Rice is 4-2 vs. RPI Top 25, 11-8 vs. RPI Top 50 and 26-16 vs. RPI Top 100. The Owls certainly still have a lot of work to do, but they’re at least close to being in the discussion.
Oregon State: There has been a lot of talk over the past few week about the Beavers’ national seed chances as a result of a crazy RPI dive. Well, even without playing last night, the Beavers are up to 17 in the latest RPI. As we said earlier this week, the Beavers are in fine shape as long as they take care of business against USC and Oregon the next two weekends.
Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Perfect Game USA and has covered the sport for over 10 seasons. He can be reached at kendall@perfectgame.org