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With Friday's college baseball action in the books, here's our inside look back at the highlights and lowlights from around the country.
TEAM OF THE DAY: Mississippi
After splitting their first two SEC series against Auburn and Alabama, respectively, the Rebels certainly are looking to make a huge statement against Florida this weekend. The Rebels started the weekend on an excellent note, defeating the red-hot Gators 3-0 in front of over 9,000 Rebel-friendly fans. Ole Miss starting pitcher Bobby Wahl was excellent in the huge win, while offensively, first baseman Matt Snyder hit a home run and second baseman Alex Yarbrough recorded two hits. The Rebels put together an impressive performance.
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Bobby Wahl, rhp, Mississippi
Wahl entered the spring a highly touted prospect, but the Rebels wanted the righty to find a way to put all the puzzle pieces together. Well, he has done that, and Florida found out the hard way on Friday. Wahl was terrific against the Gators, striking out six and allowing just two hits in eight scoreless innings of work. He threw 116 pitches, 71 of them for strikes. Also, Wahl (5-0) showed excellent stuff against the Gators, sitting 90-94 with his fastball, topping out at 95. He also flashed a plus slider at 80-83.
UPSET OF THE DAY: Clemson over Miami
Yeah, it does feel a little weird to call this such a huge upset. The Tigers have gotten off to an iffy start in ACC play, but this weekend's series against Miami is an opportunity to finally take a step forward. The Tigers didn't disappoint in the series opener, taking a 3-1 decision from the Hurricanes behind some strong pitching. Starting pitcher Kevin Brady allowed just a run on three hits in 3 1/3 innings, while relievers Matt Campbell and Scott Firth were tremendous. Campbell struck out seven in four shutout innings, while Firth struck out two in 1 2/3 shutout innings.
FIVE BEST
Wake Forest (19-9): The Demon Deacons would love nothing more than to take two of three from North Carolina this weekend. They've started the weekend on a positive note, earning a 7-6 decision in extra innings in a contest that included five two-hit performances from the Demon Deacons.
Texas (15-9): It now seems like ancient history the 'Horns struggled immensely on the offensive side of things. Texas put together yet another impressive offensive performance in a 13-3 win over California. Six Longhorns finished the game with multi-hit performances, with right fielder Mark Payton leading the way. Payton went 3-for-5 with a double, three runs scored and two RBIs.
LSU (20-3): Prized LSU starting pitcher Kevin Gausman struck out 12 in just 6 2/3 innings of work in a 10-6 win over Arkansas, but he wasn't the headliner in the game. That label belongs to sizzling hot outfielder Raph Rhymes, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Leadoff hitter JaCoby Jones also had a big night at the plate, going 4-for-5 to help the LSU cause.
Arizona (19-7): The Wildcats took a big step forward last weekend with a road series win over Oregon State. Now they're just a win away from earning a solid home series win over Stanford. The Wildcats scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the game-winning runs on a Bobby Brown single, to beat the Cardinal 8-7 in dramatic fashion. Third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean led the way at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs.
San Diego (22-6): A lot of important eyes were on San Francisco right-handed pitcher Kyle Zimmer on Friday night, but he ended up getting out-dueled by USD starting pitcher Calvin Drummond in a 6-1 Toreros triumph. Drummond had a great day on the mound, striking out seven and allowing just a run and seven hits in a complete game performance. Meanwhile, Zimmer allowed four runs and 10 hits in 7 1/3 innings.
FIVE DISAPPOINTMENTS
Santa Clara (15-8): The Broncos certainly took a step back last weekend by getting swept by San Diego in a three-game set. Well, they've also started this weekend on a bad note with a 3-1 setback to Portland. Santa Clara only mustered four hits and one run off Portland starting pitcher Kyle Kraus, who struck out seven in 8 1/3 strong innings of work.
Tulane (17-8): It's pretty safe to say the Green Wave started conference play on a negative note. Tulane starting pitcher Alex Byo was lifted after allowing three runs and eight hits in four innings, as the Green Wave dropped a disappointing 10-0 contest to Memphis. Tulane relievers Andrew Garner and Tucker Oakley didn't far much better, with Garner allowing five runs in 2 1/3 innings and Oakley allowing two runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Oklahoma State (14-12): OSU left-handed starting pitcher Andrew Heaney had been almost unhittable entering this weekend's series against Baylor. However, that didn't matter on Friday, as the talented lefty allowed four runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 7-4 Baylor triumph. OSU has an unimpressive overall and conference record, and needs to turn the tide this weekend.
Campbell (23-4): The Camels were in the midst of an amazing winning streak before Friday's contest against Charleston Southern arrived. They dropped a difficult 4-3 decision to CSU and were stymied at times by starting pitcher Ryan Gunther, who silenced the Camels at times, allowing just three runs in 7 1/3 innings of work. It's also worth noting the Camels left 11 runners on base, as compared to five for CSU.
Kansas State (13-12): The Wildcats have played a rigorous schedule the past weeks, entering the Oklahoma series fresh off tough series losses to Texas and Texas A&M. The Wildcats' woes continued on Friday night with a 5-1 setback to the Sooners. KSU starting pitcher Matt Applegate allowed five runs (three earned) in eight innings, while OU starting pitcher Jordan John was tremendous striking out 11 and allowing just a run on six hits in a complete game performance.
PG TOP 50 ROUNDUP
#20 Mississippi 3, #1 Florida 0
#10 Arizona 8, #2 Stanford 7
#18 LSU 10, #3 Arkansas 6
#4 Florida State 3, Virginia Tech
#46 Wake Forest 7, #5 North Carolina 6
#6 UCLA 16, Utah 0
#7 Kentucky vs. #23 Georgia, ppd. rain
#8 Cal State Fullerton 7, Cal State Northridge 2
#9 Texas A&M 8, Missouri 6
#11 South Carolina 8, Vanderbilt 3
Clemson 3, #12 Miami (Fla.) 1
#13 Rice 6, Southern Mississippi 3
#14 Arizona State vs. #26 Oregon, ppd. rain
#15 Purdue 9, Penn State 3
#16 Louisville 12, Villanova 1
#17 Central Florida 8, Houston 3
#19 N.C. State 5, #47 Virginia 1
#21 Baylor 7, Oklahoma State 4
#22 Texas 13, #41 California 3
#24 Georgia Tech vs. Duke, ppd. rain
#25 Mississippi State 5, #32 Auburn 3
#27 San Diego 6, San Francisco 1
Long Beach State 4, #28 Cal Poly 3
Dallas Baptist 6, #29 Missouri State 5
#30 East Carolina 11, UAB 6
#31 Oregon State vs. #33 Washington, ppd. rain
#35 Oklahoma 5, Kansas State 1
#36 Southeastern Louisiana 2, Lamar 1
#38 Pepperdine vs. Gonzaga, ppd. rain
#39 Texas State 9, McNeese State 1
#40 TCU 4, UNLV 2
#42 UC Irvine 5, Pacific 4
#43 Coastal Carolina 4, Radford 2
#44 Stetson vs. Mercer, ppd. rain
Georgia Southern 4, #45 College of Charleston 2
Boston College 10, #48 Maryland 3
#49 Southern California 15, Washington State 10
Kendall Rogers is the college baseball managing editor for Perfect Game and can be reached at kendall@perfectgame.org