Baseball Games of the Week (3/15 - 3/17)
#11 Oregon State at # 12 Arizona (3/15 6 pm, 3/16 6 PM PT, 3/17 12 PM PT)
The Wildcats welcome the Beavers for what should be one of the many entertaining Pac-12 series' this year. The three game series also marks the end of an 18-game home stand for Arizona.
Oregon State: Barring any surprise losses to San Francisco, the Beavers will come to Tucson undefeated and looking for revenge after the Wildcats won last years' series in Corvallis, 2-1. Dylan Davis is the team's leading hitter, batting .392 with a co-team-high 20 hits, five of which are doubles and two triples. Michael Conforto is the team's power hitter, having hit four of the Beavers' five home runs on the season. He also has a team-leading 17 RBI. Tyler Smith, who is tied with Davis for hits, has scored 19 times thus far.
Oregon State's weekend starters have been lights out this season, led by freshman Andrew Moore. Moore has won all four games he has started and holds a 0.99 ERA. He's also struck out 21 batters, while allowing hitters to hit .160 against him. The other two, Matt Boyd and Dan Child, are upperclassmen. Boyd, who has won three of his four starts, has struck out a team high 25 batters.
Arizona: Coming into the conference's opening weekend, the Wildcats carry a 13-5 record, with two mid-week games against Butler yet to be played. Five Wildcats have 20 hits or more, including Brandon Dixon and Johnny Field, who have 26 hits each. Coincidentally, they also account for Arizona’s entire home run total: two. Along with Dixon's one home run and 19 RBI, he has also stolen a squad-leading 14 bases. Trent Gilbert has a team-high 24 RBI and an impressive five triples. The rest of the team has combined for 10.
While the Wildcat starters haven't posted as ridiculous stats as their weekend visitors, the regular starters have shown consistency. Tyler Crawford, who has the lowest ERA of the starters with three games or more, is 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA. James Farris has a team-leading 3-1 record and a squad-leading 25 punch-outs. Mathew Troupe has four saves, two wins and a 0.00 ERA in his nine appearances.
# 13 LSU at # 6 Mississippi State (3/15 6:30 PM ET, 3/16 6:30 PM ET on CSS, 3/17 1:30 PM ET)
The weekend series marks only the second time the Tigers have left Baton Rouge and first time they've left the state. The Bulldogs, in the meantime, have played their first 19 games at home and had a neutral site game against Southern Miss on Tuesday.
LSU: The Tigers bring a 10-game winning streak (withstanding a Wednesday matchup against Nicholls State) and have outscored their opponents 80-24 in that stretch. Mark Laird leads the regulars with a .411 average, while Alex Bregman has a .391 average, a team-high 25 hits, and has scored a team-high 16 times, as has Laird. Mason Katz is the team's power hitter, knocking out five home runs and a team-leading 24 RBI. His RBI total is 10 more than Bregman, who is second on the team.
The three usual weekend starters, Cody Glenn, Ryan Eades and Aaron Nola are a combined 8-0 in 12 starts. Glenn has a team-high 0.73 ERA, allowing just two earned runs in 24.2 innings. Nola has struck out an impressive 32 batters, walking just four. Chris Cotton has saved five of the nine games he's appeared in.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs lost their first two games of the year last weekend when they dropped two of three to Central Arkansas. The team left Starkville for the first time Tuesday when it faced off with Southern Miss, a game the Bulldogs won easily. Hunter Renfroe, a Preseason All-American, is the team's top hitter, leading the squad in average (.420), home runs (four) and is tied for the team-high in RBI with 17. Adam Frazier has a team-leading 29 hits and has scored 19 times.
Jacob Lindgren has won two of his four starts and has a miniscule 0.96 ERA, striking out a squad-high 22 batters. Jonathan Holder has six saves in his eight appearances and has struck out 20 in nine innings.
Central Arkansas at Southern Mississippi (3/15 6 PM, 3/16 2 PM, 3/17 1 PM)
Central Arkansas: At 15-2, the Bears are off to their best start in school history and have suffered their two losses to Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, two teams from the SEC. Despite dropping the game to the Bulldogs, Central Arkansas rebounded to win the next two and take the series. Forrestt Allday is the team's leading hitter, posting a .470 average and knocking out 31 hits, a team-high. He's also scored 21 runs and knocked in 20, both team-highs. Michael Marietta has a team-high nine doubles and 19 RBI.
All three of the weekend starters have an ERA between 2.05-2.86. Caleb McClanahan has a 3-1 record and 2.05 ERA, while Jeffery Enloe has a 3-1 record in four starts with a 2.86 ERA and a team-leading 28 punch-outs.
Southern Mississippi: After starting the season with high expectations, including rankings in numerous polls, the Golden Eagles have struggled to a 7-9 record. They'll be looking to get back on track against the upstart Bears. Tim Lynch has a team-high 20 hits and is tied with Mason Roberts with a team-leading 11 RBI. Seven of Isaac Rodriguez's 17 hits have gone for extra bases, as he has hit six doubles and a home run.
Andrew Pierce has had a start to the season to write home about. Not only is he undefeated at 4-0, getting decisions in all four starts, he also has a 1.76 ERA. He's struck out 35 opponents, allowing only two walks on the year.
# 15 Mississippi at #9 Arkansas (3/15 6:35 CT, 3/16 2:05 CT, 3/17 1:05 CT - Cox Sports)
This is quite the intriguing first week of the conference season matchup between two of the SEC's, and the nation's, best teams.
Ole Miss: The Rebels are off to a hot 17-1 start, with one game against ULM to go. There's no doubt that Stuart Turner is the squad's leading hitter. He leads the team in average (.491), hits (27), doubles (nine), triples (one), home runs (two) and RBI (27). While Turner is the leader, the rest of the squad is pretty much even, as two players have 14 RBI each and three others have nine apiece. Bobby Wahl is a perfect four-for-four in starts and holds a 1.99 ERA. He has also struck out 22 hitters. Brett Huber has six saves and a win in seven appearances.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks hit a bump in the road at the beginning of the month, dropping four straight while a part of the Coca-Cola Classic in Arizona, but have rebounded quite nicely by winning five straight and having one game before their opening SEC series.
Like their opponents, Arkansas has one player, Tyler Spoon, who is their leading hitter in numerous categories. His .385 average, 25 hits, three home runs and 21 RBI are all team-highs. Brian Anderson may not have the most power, but his four doubles and two triples are first on the team and he is second on the team in RBI with 14.
Trey Killian has a 2-1 record and a 0.86 ERA, striking out 22 and walking just one in 21 innings.
