It’s been a long offseason but the road to Omaha officially started on Friday. That’s right folks, college baseball is back! There was a lot to take from the opening weekend between tough encounters and big games. Here are the winners and losers from the opening weekend.
Winners
Texas Tech (3-0)
Friday: 8-4 victory against Gonzaga
Saturday: 10-3 win against Gonzaga
Sunday: 12-3 victory against Gonzaga
The Red Raiders have one game left in their series against Gonzaga, but have already gone three games to win the series. The bats stayed hot all weekend as the Red Raiders scored an impressive 30 runs in their first three games to start the season. Gavin Kash was the man Friday as he drove in three runs and hit a homer. Meanwhile, Game Two was more about starting pitcher Mason Molina who allowed just a single hit in five innings, while Sunday’s matchup saw Ty Coleman go five-for-five as he had a team-high 3 RBI.
Kansas (3-0)
Friday: 5-1 win against Valparaiso
Saturday: Lost 11-3 to Valparaiso
Sunday: 6-4 win against Valparaiso
After splitting the first two games, the Jayhawks took the series Sunday in Corpus Christi. Chase Jans went big for Kansas Sunday afternoon when he hit the go-ahead three run to help propel the Jayhawks to a win. There is still a lot of work to be done in Lawrence by head coach Dan Fitzgerald, but last weekend was a big step in the right direction.
TCU (2-1)
Friday: 11-4 win against Vanderbilt
Saturday: 18-6 win against Arkansas
Sunday: Lost 9-8 to Missouri
Despite the heartbreaking loss in Sunday night extra innings, no Big 12 team had a better weekend than TCU. They roughed Vanderbilt Friday night while Elijah Nunez had four RBI. It turned out to be even better on Saturday as they put another loss on an SEC team. Austin Davis led the Frogs on Saturday with three-run runs in which he included a solo blast to left field. I know the loss to Missouri hurt a little, but it was a big weekend for TCU beating two top ten teams in Arlington.
Kansas State (3-0)
Friday: 7-6 win against Stephen F. Austin
Saturday: 8-4 win against Stephen F. Austin
Sunday: 14-8 win against Stephen F. Austin
Break the brooms because Kansas State has gone to the Lone Star State and cleaned out the lumberjacks. The Wildcats took the first game off Kyan Lodice’s double to take the lead in the eighth inning. On Saturday, the long ball was key for Kansas State as Roberto Pena, Cole Johnson and Nick Goodwin all went for yards. The hot bats continued Sunday for the Wildcats as they threw 14 runs to complete the sweep.
Losers
Texas (0-3)
Friday: Lost 3-2 to Arkansas
Saturday: Lost 6-5 to Missouri
Sunday: Lost 12-2 to Vanderbilt
There were several Big 12 teams that had rough starts but none bigger than Texas. The Longhorns played in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown and went 0-3 against Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Missouri. I thought starting pitcher Lucas Gordon did a good job on Friday, but other than that, Texas had problems on the mound and even got swept by Vanderbilt on Sunday as they fell 12-2. Texas better pick things up because the schedule isn’t going to get any easier with games against #1 LSU and Cal State Fullerton coming up.
Baylor (1-2)
Friday: 6-5 win against Central Michigan
Saturday: Lost 20-5 to Central Michigan
Sunday: Lost 4-3 to Central Michigan
The Bears started the weekend well with an extra inning victory over Central Michigan, but were planted Saturday and Sunday. While Jack Johnson got the game hit on Friday, Baylor didn’t even come close to winning on Saturday as the Chippewas defeated the Bears 20-5. And if not for a bad fourth inning, Baylor might have managed to win the series on Sunday.
Oklahoma (1-2)
Friday: 5-2 win against Cal Baptist
Saturday: Lost 5-2 to Cal Baptist
Sunday: Lost 6-3 to Cal Baptist
Oklahoma got off to a strong start Friday as starting pitcher Kale Davis pitched five quality innings in the Sooners’ 5-2 Opening Day win. But things went badly over the next two days. The Sooners collapsed in the 8th inning on Saturday giving up 3 runs after the game was tied at two. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the only eighth-inning collapse the Sooners would have this weekend as the same thing happened on Sunday. This is not the start Oklahoma especially wanted against a team like California Baptist.
Oklahoma State (1-2)
Friday: 5-3 win against Missouri
Saturday: Lost 11-9 to Vanderbilt
Sunday: Lost 18-1 to Arkansas
Much like their rival in Norman, Oklahoma State started the weekend with a win before losing their final two games. Against Vandy on Saturday, the Cowboys nearly completed a big comeback behind the bats of Roc Riggio and Nolan McLean after trailing 11-2. Unfortunately, that comeback fell short. To make matters worse, they were absolutely annihilated by Arkansas on Sunday in a game that has never been shut out.
West Virginia (1-2)
Friday: Lost 4-3 to Georgia Southern
Saturday: Lost 6-2 to Georgia Southern
Sunday: 13-4 win against Georgia Southern
While Saturday’s game wasn’t a close one, West Virginia capped off the weekend with a nice win against a good team from Georgia Southern. The bats were on fire Sunday as the Mountaineers scored 13 points. Barry Braden, Caleb McNeely and Landon Wallace each had three RBIs. Although they did manage to win one game in Statesboro, they should have been able to win the series because they blew a 3-1 late-game lead on Friday.
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